Former federal opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull says it's no surprise a large number of Australians oppose the government's proposed mining tax, given the reaction of the sharemarket.
A Herald/Nielson poll published in The Sydney Morning Herald on Monday showed 47 per cent of those surveyed were opposed to the 40 per cent tax on mining company super profits.
"It doesn't surprise me that there is a lot of opposition to this tax," Mr Turnbull told reporters after addressing a resources conference in Sydney on Monday.
"Australians can recognise that the mining sector is a vital part of our economy."
"It is the most dynamic part of our economy.
"They see the importance of the big mining stocks and their own superannuation funds and they've seen the damage that Kevin Rudd's new tax has done to the value of those shares on the stock market.
"He (Mr Rudd) has put thousands of jobs and savings at risk with this tax."
Some 44 per cent of those surveyed in the poll supported the proposed tax, which is not due to come into effected until July 2012.
Mr Turnbull shrugged off suggestions of a conflict between his support for an emission trading scheme and support for the mining industry.
"I've always supported the mining industry," he said.
"What we're having at the moment is a debate about how much of the profits of the resource sector should be appropriated by the government."
But Mr Turnbull said he would not be surprised if Mr Rudd abandoned the proposed tax on mining sector super profits, which was part of government's response to the Henry tax review released last week.
"If he's not prepared to persist with his answer to what he describes as the greatest moral challenge of all time - climate change - if he's not even prepared to stand up for that, what will he stand up for?"
"This is a Prime Minister, a man, who apparently believes in nothing - so could he walk away from this tax? Possibly.
"His past track record shows the only doors he's interested in pushing against are open ones."
