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Sydney - Australia's Greens party Friday accused major mining firms of treating ordinary people like "mugs" by running a fraudulent campaign against a proposed new tax on their profits.
Bob Brown, head of the left-wing group and one of a handful of minority party senators whose votes will be key to passing the 40% "super tax" into law, said the big miners were exaggerating their claims.
"It's a fraudulent campaign by the big mining barons who simply want to keep the rake-off, rip-off profits that they're making out of the minerals resources boom worldwide out of the property of Australians," Brown said.
The centre-left Labor government's plan to impose a 40% levy on mining profits from July 2012 has drawn a furious backlash from major resources firms who claim it will endanger the nation's prosperity.
Global giant Rio Tinto has pitched in to a well-funded industry campaign against the tax, and Friday launched a series of advertisements claiming its investments in Australia totalled more than its profits from the country.
Rival BHP Billiton also started its own independent push with a full-page newspaper ad urging the government to "resource the future but don't tax the past", a reference to plans to impose the levy retrospectively.
Brown said Rio's ad, which claims it has invested A$38.4bn over the past decade compared with earnings of A$37.4bn, treated "Australians like mugs".
"If it's indicating it's running at a loss in the country, why the hell is it worried about a super profits tax? It doesn't add up. It isn't logical," said Brown.
Labour does not hold a majority in Australia's upper house and relies on support from the Greens and independent senators to pass any legislation, such as the mining reforms, which are opposed by the conservative opposition.
The Resources Super Profits Tax is likely to be major election issue threatening key marginal seats in the resources-rich west unless it is resolved before the poll, which is expected later this year.
- AFP
