Former federal Labor leader Mark Latham has accused Gina Rinehart of double standards after the billionaire mining magnate slammed Australia for its ‘‘entitlement’’ mentality.

Mr Latham’s comments come after the mining tycoon took aim at welfare recipients and the political left for spending the ‘‘bottomless pit’’ of revenue created by mining.

"Something has to give": Gina Rinehart. Credit:Bloomberg

‘‘We are living beyond our means,’’ Ms Rinehart, worth an estimated $19.89 billion, reportedly wrote in a column for the Australian Resources and Investment magazine.

‘‘Australians have to work hard or actually harder and smarter to create the revenue to be able to pay that bill ... something has to give, we can’t do it all.’’