The opposition's claims on a new mining tax can't be believed when one of its frontbenchers is buying shares in BHP Billiton, Treasurer Wayne Swan has said.
Miners are outraged by the government's planned resources super profits tax and the coalition, which plans to oppose the move, says it risks killing the nation's most vital sector.
But opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton lodged a declaration of shares in miner BHP since the tax was proposed, the Nine Network reported on Sunday.
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Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said most Australians indirectly had shares in BHP through their super, and maintained the tax was a bad idea.
"Their (BHP's) investment is going to be under enormous cloud as long as this tax is in place," he told the Nine Network on Sunday.
"I will let every person make their own investment decisions.
"But if you take BHP on its word ... there's the coal mines in Queensland, the iron ore mines and the uranium mines in the west, there's the $22 billion Olympic Dam expansion, all (with) big question marks over them because of this new tax."
You can't trust them on mining, says SWan
Mr Swan said the revelation of Mr Dutton's BHP shares showed the opposition couldn't be trusted.
"You can't trust a Liberal Party who is out there saying this will ruin the mining sector while one of their most senior frontbenchers is buying shares in BHP," he said in a statement.
"This proves you just can't trust anything Mr Abbott and the Liberals say about the economy.
"And it shows why they're such a serious risk to our economy.
"Mr Abbott and Mr Dutton must now admit this is nothing but a scare campaign which is risking our economy to make a cheap political point."
Meanwhile, Mr Swan has also disputed the opposition's claims the tax could hit the price of non-renewable building materials and fertilisers - and could therefore hurt house and food prices.
"This is just ridiculous because it proves he hasn't got a clue about the tax," he told ABC TV.
"Many of these low-value commodities might do much better in a resource super profits tax than they currently do.
"Low-value commodities are punished, absolutely punished, by a royalty regime."
