Hunt says Australians 'should be proud' of Coalition efforts on climate change

Environment minister's approval of Carmichael coalmine in Queensland's Galilee Basin has been labelled 'grossly irresponsible' by environmentalists

The federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, has said Australians "should be proud" of the government's effort in tackling climate change despite his rubber-stamping of one of the world's largest coalmines.

On Thursday, Hunt approved Adani's $16.5bn Carmichael mine and rail project, which will extract up to 60m tonnes of coal a year from the Galilee Basin region of central Queensland. It is the second time Hunt has approved the mine after his previous decision was invalidated because he had not considered its impact on two vulnerable reptile species.