Had they done so, there would have been a huge outcry from the 'punters' when prices spiked. They would have been claiming that BHP and RIO were not paying their 'fair share' and wanted the flat rate changed upwards.
IMO the % levy is the correct way to go. Governments should have known the outrageous high prices were an anomaly and weren't going to last, but like always in Australia, we blow every cent we get and then some. There is never enough.
We're like a nation of Housos. Spending all our dough pension cheque to pension cheque, with no thought to tomorrow. Not everyone is like this, but a hell of a lot are.
