Billionaire miner Andrew Forrest says "plane loads" of lobbyists are to blame for the government's backdown on a proposed inquiry into the iron ore market.
The government has confirmed a proposed resources sector investigation into big miners like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto will not go ahead.
An angry Mr Forrest said the decision raised questions about whether multinationals have too much influence in Australia.
"We literally saw plane loads of lobbyists get flown in by the multinationals into Canberra and they never let up all week," he said during a feisty interview with Nine's Karl Stefanovic on Friday.
"You shouldn't be allowed to totally manipulate governments, which is what I think has been done here.
"You saw the previous government flip, this government flip. The real question is do the multinationals have too much influence in this country and we should be allowed to ask the question."
He compared the decision to the previous Labor government's backdown on the mining tax due to industry pressure and reiterated his claims that the industry was hurting itself in order to crush local competitors.
"No one has ever seen a chief executive talk down their own commodity price, try to hammer their own commodity price," he said. "That is to get rid of all of the local Aussies who have sprung up in this industry."
Treasurer Joe Hockey acknowledged consultation led to the inquiry being abandoned.
"After discussing the issue with regulatory bodies and stakeholders across the resources sector, the government will not be initiating an inquiry at this time," he said in a statement released Thursday night.
There has also been public speculation that billionaire miner Gina Rinehart was one of those privately lobbying Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Some cabinet ministers scoffed at that link but when was asked on Thursday if he had been asked by Mrs Rinehart to scrap the probe Mr Abbott said: "I have had various conversations with various people over months and months about our iron ore industry. We haven't made a decision about an inquiry."
A spokesman for Hancock Prospecting, Ms Rinehart's company, denied suggestions that she, or her company, had quietly lobbied for the inquiry to be dumped.
Mr Abbott had directly referenced Mr Forrest's claims in a radio interview last Friday where he signalled potential support for an inquiry.
"I think we do need an inquiry," Mr Abbott said.
"I think we do need to know the facts of what's going on here because I am conscious of the claims that are being made by Andrew Forrest and others.
"What we don't want to see is predatory behaviour by any company."
Mr Forrest also raised a recent Senate inquiry into corporate tax evasion to continue his attack on his competitors.
"They dig it up for us and then they park enormous profits in Singapore and in other tax havens," he said during the Nine Network interview.
- with James Massola
