PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has called on local communities to combat the activist campaign aimed at the Queensland coal and gas industries.

QRC CEO Michael Roche told a business breakfast on Tuesday that the activists' successes in disrupting and delaying projects were coming hard and fast and it was time for everyone to step forward and lend a hand or Australia may as well close its doors to new business.

“The activists’ campaign to disrupt and delay new projects is real and so we need help from everyone with skin in the game to combat the campaign against the coal and gas industries,” Roche said.

“It’s not just resource companies that have much to lose – everyone from the local communities, local businesses to the government coffers, have something to lose if the activists are allowed to continue to hold projects to ransom.”

Roche’s warning comes just days after Indian major Adani had its environmental approval for the $16.5-billion Carmichael coal mine overturned by the Federal Court.

The approval was appealed by greens group, the Mackay Conservation Group, which argued that Environment Minister Greg Hunt had failed to consider conservation advice when making his decision on the project.

The Federal Environment Department would now take between six and eight weeks to compile a new report on the project, which would again be presented to Hunt.

Roche welcomed Federal Attorney-General George Brandis’ warning that legal loopholes were providing a "red carpet for vigilante litigation" and should be at the top of the list for Parliament.

“Industry congratulates Brandis for speaking out, especially for his Queensland constituents, but we need to remember it’s not just about fixing a loophole in federal legislation, it’s about both state and federal governments showing they genuinely support the resources industry and the jobs the sector can deliver,” Roche said.

“The laws are there to protect the environment and project approvals in Australia operate under ecological sustainable development rules, so it’s up to governments to properly balance the best environmental, social and economic outcomes.

“The legal loopholes that currently exist are being used to neuter the economic and social considerations.”

Roche said it was no longer good enough for those relying on the industry to ignore the growing threat and it was time for all to stand shoulder to shoulder to defend an industry that supports and provides the modern fabric of our everyday lives.