Coalition seeks to shield mines from climate activists

Key points

• Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has pledged that coal and gas projects would be protected from legal challenges based on the emissions their exports create overseas. The pledge follows a High Court decision that blocked Mach Energy's mine expansion in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, because the state planning body had not considered emissions from coal burnt overseas.
• Taylor's proposed bill would stop governments refusing projects on that basis.
• Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said the court ruling did not extend beyond New South Wales law, but said he would consider tightening Queensland's laws if needed.