Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the steep plunge in the Australian dollar, which has lost some 12 percent in the past month, is due to global uncertainty and not to a proposed mining tax.
At 1200 AEST, the Australian dollar was trading at $US0.8200/04 down 1.36 per cent from yesterdays's close of $US0.8314/16. From 0700 AEST on Thursday, the local unit traded between $US0.8242 and $US0.8073, its lowest level since July 2009.
The local currency has depreciated 11.95 per cent against the US dollar since April 30.
Dollar dive blamed on Greece debt crisis
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the fall was related to the wave of uncertainty in Europe and the United States stemming from Greece's debt woes and not Australia's proposed 40 percent tax on the so-called super profits of the resources sector.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"The euro is falling dramatically," Julia Gillard told the Nine Network when asked whether the dollar's dive was related to the proposed tax on the country's most important export sector.
"We are seeing instability in Greece and what we know from the global financial crisis is when you get instability somewhere it feeds around the world.
"We are seeing a flight to the US currency. Whenever there are problems around the world people flow to the US dollar because it's viewed to be the world's strongest currency."
The Australian dollar, which in 2007 was close to reaching parity with the greenback before it was pulled down under the weight of the global financial crisis, has hit some of its lowest points since July 2009 in the past week.
Australia's economy is riding a commodities boom driven by Asia and the government's plans to tap into resources' companies profits has angered mining firms, which say it will drive investment offshore.
But Gillard said the government was committed to its controversial tax, although she did not rule out significant changes.
"We are absolutely committed to the mining tax. We are absolutely committed to what we said on day one -- we would consult with miners about the implementation arrangements that's happening now," Gillard said.
