Gillard to farewell soldier in Cairns

Julia Gillard is heading to far north Queensland on Thursday for the funeral of an
Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan.
The prime minister will join the family and friends of Private Ben Chuck at a
service on Lake Tinaroo, south-west of Cairns.
The 27-year-old commando was one of three soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in
the Afghan province of Kandahar on June 21.
Two-thousand kilometres away in Canberra, Ms Gillard's deputy Wayne Swan and
Resources Minister Martin Ferguson will continue their negotiations with miners over
the government's controversial resources tax plan.
Mr Swan, the Treasurer, promised to keep up the "good faith" talks as BHP Billiton,
Rio Tinto and Xstrata executives met with the government on Wednesday.
Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh said the government was taking its
concerns seriously and was hopeful of a quick resolution.
But he urged them to keep the deal if Labor was re-elected.
Ms Gillard has committed herself to getting a speedy resolution to the proposed 40
per cent resource super profits tax.
"I have been pleased by the constructive and disciplined approach that is being
taken by both sides," she said in a statement.
The government is keen to have a deal reached in an election year but any compromise
could affect the $9 billion in projected annual revenue Treasury expects the tax to
generate from 2013.