Addressing the second day of the Australian Metals and Mining Association National Conference in Queensland, Ludlam did admit that his party prefers the original Resource Super Profits Tax.

“On the mining tax, we are open to negotiate over that,” he told delegates.

“We believe that it is very important that the public benefit from the enormous wealth generated from the extraction of minerals while it lasts.”

Ludlam said the Greens were open to negotiation over the issue of what point the industry was damaged by the tax.

“At what point is it not just taking off the top and actually impacting on investment and that’s the area we are willing to negotiate,” he said.

“Particularly the impact the tax will have on the small players – there’s plenty of room to move there.”

Ludlam said the party maintained that the tax should be applied to a broader range of commodities, like the RSPT was, and that the Greens would not be stepping out of the debate.

“We propose to improve that tax and make sure that the benefits of the wealth that is generated are shared as fairly as we can.”