Parliament will make final decision on mining tax - Brown

Whatever deal is done between the Prime Minister and the mining barons, the Australian Parliament will have the final say on the new mining tax, Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown said in Sydney today in response to Rio Tinto's Sam Walsh's call for a guarantee that the mining tax deal would remain intact post-election.

"Beyond its own bailiwick, the government cannot meet the miners' demands that the looming mining tax deal be guaranteed."

"The mining tax legislation will come before the Parliament after the election and there it will be properly scrutinised and most likely changed for the better."

"The Greens will apply close scrutiny to the proposed mining tax in the Senate, it will go before a committee for public input, and we will want to see that benefits of Australia's resources boom are shared by all Australians," Senator Brown said.

The Australian Greens support the Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT) in principle, but have argued that a part of the super profits it raises should be put into a sovereign fund to invest in long term projects for the future, such as an east coast high speed rail link.

Media contact: Peter Stahel 0459 133 597