After drawing much public flak from his proposed 40 percent tax on super profits, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is reported to be ready for a compromise agreement with the mining sector, in the hope of taking out some of the pressure over the controversial new resource tax.

This as several MP's, including those allied with Rudd, had said that the public discontent over the new tax, had reached their electorates and could be damaging to Rudd and his administration.

One MP who arrived in Canberra for a crucial meeting said: ''Out there in the community,'' it's really bad."

Rudd needs a policy victory if he wants his Labour Party to remain in power. He has thrown himself into negotiations with the miners to assist Resources Minister Martin Ferguson.

Some say that Ferguson and Rudd are close to reaching a provisional agreements with some minor mining firms, but not with big players like Billiton and Rio Tinto.

Rudd is believed to be planning to announce a series of agreements this week as part of his administration's effort to address discontent over the planned super tax and its application to existing projects.

The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, embarked on a solo campaign of interviews to shore up his boss against ''baseless speculation'' being fuelled by a few ''malcontents''. ''Too right he will,'' Swan said when asked if Rudd would lead the government to the election. ''The government is 100 percent behind the Prime Minister.''

But one MP said that the public's anger towards the government and Kevin "is very real." ''Even those of us who have a lot of time for him can't work out why the government decided to pick a fight with the biggest, wealthiest, highly respected group in the community.''