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In its response to the Henry Tax Review, the government announced on 2 May 2010 that it would introduce a Resource Super Profits Tax on mining projects. Echoing ferocious condemnation by the mining industry, the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, branded the proposal a ‘big new tax’ that would threaten Australia’s prosperity.

Political cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan in an underground maze of tunnels. They are both crawling toward a dead end in the bottom right of the cartoon. Rudd leads the way, while Swan is not far behind him. Both wear orange overalls and a yellow miner's helmet with a light on it. Rudd wears his on his head, while Swan has his on his backside. Swan is about to crawl down a short ladder. He is saying 'There's a way out of here Kev!' Rudd is saying 'Yes, this is definitely it ...'. - click to view larger image — 'Kevin underground with mining supertax' by Peter Nicholson

Political cartoon depicting a wild west scene. Tony Abbott, dressed as a brothel 'madame' in a red dress, high heels, stockings and a feather boa, stands at the back of a covered wagon. A sign on the side of the wagon says 'Madame Abbott's Devine Laissez Affaire'. A fat man in a dark suit and hat stands to the left of the wagon, talking to Tony Abbott's 'madame'. He is saying 'Here to make your fortune too, ladies?' He is lighting a cigar with a large denomination bank note. In the background is a saloon. Kevin Rudd, dressed as a sheriff, is bursting out of a window, upside down. A fist is seen protruding through the broken window. - click to view larger image — 'How the west was won' by David Pope

Political cartoon Julia Gillard as a young girl. She is lying on the ground, on her stomach, in a blue dress. To the left of her is scattered the contents of a model kit. The open box lies nearby; it says 'D.I.Y. Mining Tax' on the lid. A hammer and an open tube of glue lie near. To the right of Gillard is the model, which is supposed to represent a miner, in a blue singlet and khaki shorts. The miner has been assembled in an ad hoc manner. An arm sticks up where the neck should be; the head protrudes from the right arm socket; a leg protrudes from the left arm socket; an arm protrudes from the right leg of the shorts; an eyeball is stuck to the front of the singlet; the arm sticking up where the head should be holds an eyeball in its hand. Gillard looks at her creation with an expression of satisfaction. - click to view larger image — 'Model' by Glen Le Lievre

Political cartoon depicting a hole in the ground. A speech bubble emerges from the hole. In it is written 'Mine mine mine mine mine mine all mine!' At the top of the cartoon is written 'Mining'. - click to view larger image — 'Mine mine mine!' by Cathy Wilcox

Political cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd holding a yellow canary in his hand and wearing a yellow miner's helmet with a light on the front. He bends his head down to look at the bird, so the light illuminates the bird. The background is dark. The bird is resting on its back with its legs sticking up. On the bird's side is written 'Polls'. A breath emerges from the bird's beak. In the breath is written 'Gough'. Rudd's expression is one of concern and uncertainty. He holds his chin with the fingers of his other hand. - click to view larger image — 'Canary knows best' by Simon Letch

Political cartoon depicting a siege. In the upper left of the cartoon are two men, each wearing cowboy-style hats and smoking cigars. They are behind a barricade that has 'W.A.' written on it. To the right of the barricade is a large cannon that is going 'BOOM BOOM!'. Above the men is a Eureka Stockade-style flag, that has dollar signs on it. Behind them, a mechancial shovel with 'Mining Super Profits' on it digs up the ground. In the lower right of the cartoon, four men in blue old-fashioned police uniforms face the barricade. Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan are two of the men; they fire guns at the barricade. The other two men are Tony Abbot and Joe Hockey; they stand with their hands up. Joe Hockey holds a white flag of surrender. - click to view larger image — 'Eureka 2010' by Bruce Petty

Political cartoon depicting a man dressed in a red 'Iron Man' superhero outfit. He clutches a large bag with a dollar sign on it. He extends his right arm out; a bright light emerges from the palm of his hand. Bright lights are also visible on the soles of his boots. His head is not covered; he has blonde hair and a look of defiance on his face. Several men in dark uniforms with 'ATO' on them are trying to capture the man with the bag. A text panel in the top left corner says 'Millionaire businessman by day, superhero campaigner by night, Andrew 'Twiggy' Forest, fights the evil government forces who want to steat his fortune ...' The words 'IRON ORE MAN' are in the top right of the cartoon. - click to view larger image — 'Iron Ore Man' by Jason Chatfield

Political cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd siphoning fuel from the tank of a very large yellow mining truck. The truck towers above him; only its front right wheel and part of its bodywork are visible. He has a metal jerry can, into which runs a long hose. The hose goes up to the truck's fuel tank, high above Rudd's head. His expression is one of furtiveness and annoyance. - click to view larger image — 'Siphoning the tank' by Tom Jellett

Political cartoon depicting Kevin Rudd and Ken Henry. Kevin Rudd has emerged from a doorway, holding aloft a short piece of paper with a torn bottom edge. He smiles triumphantly. To the right of the doorway stands Ken Henry, holding a very long piece of paper with a torn top edge. He looks annoyed. Both men wear dark suits with red and white striped ties. - click to view larger image — 'The Henry Report' by Ron Tandberg

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