The successive record profits posted by giant mining firms BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd should further sway the government to pursue its proposed mineral resources rent tax despite the numerous recalibrations that it has undergone.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Wednesday that in spite of the reported $60 billion possible revenues scraped from the latest draft of the MRRT, "the revenue that flows from the MRRT is still strong."

Swan pointed out that adjustments made on the new form of the mining tax, as the government accommodated economic and political considerations, would lead to considerably less profits as against to the resources super profits tax first pitched during the tenure of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Aside from that, Swan reminded the media that within the ten-year projections framed for the mining tax, numerous variables are expected to impact the actual revenue results of the MRRT as he stressed that "a 10-year projection is not one that you can necessarily say is holy writ as it can be effected by a range of factors."

Instead, he added that the government is currently focused on the medium term goals of the tax since "we have the revenue to achieve the objectives that we've put in place for the MRRT and that will be achieved as this legislation goes to the parliament and is passed."

Also, Swan stressed that the need for the mining tax is even more emphasised with the recent reports of two mining behemoths registering record profits on their latest financial reports, with BHP Billiton posting a high in-take of more than $10 billion in only six months of operations.

Such whopping numbers, according to Swan, only justify the imposition of the mining tax however it has undergone adjustments that made it less profitable basing on its present form.

Yet with the profit figures brandished by both BHP and Rio Tinto, Swan asserted that "the future of the resource industry is very strong, that's why Australia does need a resource rent tax."