Ever had that sinking feeling that you've been led up the garden path, taken for a ride and been had a right royal lend of, all at the same time?

As our politicians bicker over whether to fund the Queensland disaster relief program through a temporary tax or years of spending cuts, the most extraordinary transfer of wealth in the nation's history is taking place right under our noses.

In case you have not noticed, in the past week the mining giant Rio Tinto announced a 161 per cent lift in annual earnings, Gina Reinhart was declared the nation's richest individual and the Swiss group Xstrata unveiled a 430 per cent surge in earnings, based mainly on its Australian operations.

Now, make way for the whale. Tomorrow BHP Billiton will deliver one of the biggest half-year earnings results in Australian and British history. If all the stars stay in alignment, the large multinational is on track to hand down a whopping $20 billion full-year result.

It is all a far cry from the desperate claims made just nine months ago in the most successful advertising campaign in history. That was when the three big miners joined forces to lop off the central plank in the tax reform plan put forth by the Treasury secretary, Ken Henry.