In May 2010, with little warning or consultation, the Rudd Labour Government introduced a 'Resources Super Profits Tax' catching the mining industry by surprise.

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The tax was sold to the public with the suggestion that Australia's mining companies were largely foreign-owned and that they did not pay their fair share of tax on their 'super profits'.

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In support of this claim, the Treasurer produced highly selective figures that were ultimately shown to be misleading.

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The Union movement also weighed in, running TV advertisements that made personal attacks on senior mining executives.

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The mining industry, through the Minerals Council of Australia, defended itself with 'A letter to Canberra' - a campaign written by Geoff Denman as Senior Writer and Creative Director under Neil Lawrence at Lawrence Creative.

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By June 2010, Julia Gillard became Prime Minister replacing Kevin Rudd. In her maiden speech, she asked for the advertising campaign to stop and within weeks, the RSPT was abandoned.