Retired MP Tony Windsor says Howard-era mismanagement of the mining boom will return to haunt Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

The former key federal independent has backed a union report's calls for a sovereign wealth fund to help share the benefits of the resources industry among more Australians.

Mr Windsor launched the report, commissioned by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, at an event in Sydney on Tuesday.

The report found that although the resources boom had helped shelter Australia from the worst of the global financial crisis, governments had "squandered" a chance to efficiently share its profits.

It argued Norway had done a better job of maximising the permanent gains from oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.