Australia approved coalmine because it isn't a 'neo-colonialist' power, Greg Hunt claims

Environment minister defends approval of Indian company Adani's $16bn Carmichael mine, saying 'poorest should be able to make their own decisions'

The Australian government approved Adani's controversial $16bn Carmichael coalmine in Queensland because it was not a "neo-colonialist"power that tried to tell poor countries what to do, environment minister Greg Hunt has told a side event at the Paris climate summit.

Hunt was speaking about the coalition's Direct Action policy at an OECD event on different climate policies when he was challenged by a questioner about why the government had approved the Adani mine given the huge quantity of emissions its coal would create.