The Australia Institute (TAI) has fired another shot at the coal industry, in its quest to turn the Australian public against the old energy industry.

A back-and-forth has begun between a mining industry lobby and a group many argue lobbies through research for environmentalists.

The Queensland Resources Council is in The Australia Institute’s sights, with a new paper claiming the coal industry contributes less to state coffers than mining firms allege.

But both sides say the other is twisting its figures.

The study finds that only 4 per cent of Queensland Government revenue comes from coal mining royalties, with coal only making up 7 per cent of the gross state product.

‘The Mouse that Roars: Coal in the Queensland Economy’ came out late last week, and claims that the coal mining workforce is one of the smallest of the major industries, accounting for a mere 1.2 per cent of employment in the state or around 24,350 workers, according to the 2011 census.

But “that does not take into account the contractors employed by the coal sector,” QRC CEO Michael Roche says.

The Australia Institute says that the industry overstates the role of indirect employment, making claims which do not play out in Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data.

“In the short term, ABS data shows that changes in mining employment often move in the opposite direction to changes in overall Queensland employment,” report author Roderick Campbell said.

“Over the longer term, increases in mining employment have had little or no impact on Queensland’s overall employment.”

Mr Roche says that of the $2.3 billion paid to Queensland in resource royalties in 2013-14, coal was responsible for more than $1.8 billion.

TAI actually overestimated this figure, putting it at $2 billion but claiming that the “figure is not large in the context of running a state government”.

“Similar amounts come from vehicle registrations and interest on funds saved for superannuation and long service leave entitlements.”

The report says that the Queensland Government has provided $8 billion in assistance to the coal industry over the last six years.

The QRC argues that coal mining sees the direct spending of $38 billion on wages, goods and services and Queensland communities in 2012-13, which consultants say resulted in a total $76 billion spent in the state economy.