``Royalty relief should be something that's offered not just in the Galilee Basin but around Queensland, and I mean it for coal and I mean it for minerals,'' Mr Roche told ABC radio. ``The concept has already been raised in relation to proposed uranium projects, for example.''

 Anti-nuclear campaign co-ordinator Mark Bailey hit back, saying uranium mining was ``already a huge burden on the taxpayer, with the Mary Kathleen uranium mine near Mount Isa still an environmental mess more than 30 years after it closed.

``The QRC are irresponsibly pitching to reap in larger uranium profits by paying less royalties at the expense of Queensland taxpayers if they are responsible economic managers.''

 Mr Bailey called on the Newman government to reinstate the ban on uranium mining, saying it was an ongoing liability on the public purse.

``The Newman government has no mandate from the people of Queensland to allow uranium mining as they explicitly ruled it out before the election,'' he said.

Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear-free campaigner Dave Sweeney said the uranium sector was a minor contributor to employment and the economy, was a major source of domestic and international risks and was overdue for an independent inquiry into its effects on the environment, health, safety and security.

``Instead of backroom deals to facilitate an underperforming and contested industry, the LNP government should honour its responsibilities to the community and the environment by commissioning an independent public inquiry into the full costs and consequences of any uranium mining in Queensland,'' Mr Sweeney said.