CME chief Ref Howard-Smith said it was pleasing to hear some Opposition ministers were starting to question the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, which threatened Australia’s international competitiveness.

“The MRRT has added a significant compliance and regulatory burden to industry due to the complex administrative requirements,” he said.

“CME has consistently expressed concerns the MRRT is administratively onerous and costly as well as ineffective, falling significantly short of delivering the genuine tax reform needed to ensure Australia’s ongoing international competitiveness.”

The Senate is expected to vote on the mining tax repeal bills in July and there are reports that Labor is facing internal pressure to revise its stance in order to improve its image in WA.

Earlier this year Labor and the Greens worked together to block the repeal of the MRRT, making use of their control of the Senate before a changeover next month.

The Coalition’s bill previously aimed to repeal the MRRT but also included the removal of low-income superannuation benefits and payments to the children of killed veterans.

Looking towards next month’s vote, the CME said the government needed to address cost challenges to ensure the mining industry continued to deliver benefits to the community.

It said it maintained its preference for the current royalty scheme administered by state governments, which have the primary responsibility for project approvals and the provision of infrastructure.

“A state-based royalty regime is best placed to ensure revenue and infrastructure investment is returned to the communities from where our mineral wealth is extracted,” Howard-Smith said.