Resources minister Josh Frydenberg has mounted an unusual defence of the controversial Adani mine, saying there is "a strong moral case" for coal.
On ABC's Insiders on Sunday morning, host Barrie Cassidy suggested Frydenberg was, "making it sound as if selling coal overseas is like some sort of foreign aid effort on our part."
Frydenberg replied that there's a "strong moral case" for approving the massive new Adani coal mine in Queensland, arguing the mine could be a cheaper source of energy, in countries such as India.
"You know, I've just been at the G20 and at the APEC energy ministers meeting and they pointed out over one billion people around the world don't have access to electricity. This means that more than two billion people today are using wood and dung for their cooking," he said.
"Now the World Health Organization says that this leads to 4.3 million premature deaths. That's more people dying through those sort of inefficient forms of energy than from malaria, from tuberculosis and HIV AIDS all combined."
"There's a strong moral case that the green activists sometimes don't comprehend."
Environment minister Greg Hunt approved the Adani mine last week, amidst opposition from environmental groups who say the mine will be disastrous.
Greens senator and party climate change spokesperson Larissa Waters has hit out at Frydenberg's comments, calling his argument a "sick joke".
"Four out of five people without electricity in India are not connected to an electricity grid so can't access coal-fired power," she said.
Waters suggested assisting developing countries to introduce renewable energy as a better solution.
Frydenberg's "strong moral case" defence is a variation of the former prime minister Tony Abbott's line that coal is "good for humanity."
"Coal is vital for the future energy needs of the world. So let's have no demonisation of coal. Coal is good for humanity," said Abbott last year.
When pushed on whether the new Adani mine - which has seen banks withdraw from funding the project - would be assisted by the federal government, Frydenberg was adamant it had to "stand on its own two feet."