Adani had sought costs from the Coast and Country lobby group but the Land Court refused the application for costs on Wednesday, with president Carmel MacDonald finding it was not in the court's jurisdiction to award costs in such administrative inquiries.

Coast and Country's legal representative, Environment Defenders Office Queensland principal Sean Ryan, said he welcomed the Land Court's decision not to award costs.

“Community objections to mining are a normal part of the administrative assessment process; important to both the public interest and the protection of the environment,” Ryan said.

But Queensland Resources Council CEO Michael Roche said the decision by the Queensland Land Court to rule that awarding costs was outside of its jurisdiction, “reveals yet another deficiency in the many that infest the Court’s processes”

“The Queensland Resources Council has been appealing to the state government to urgently overhaul the flawed system and today’s judgement in the Adani case, adds yet another piece of evidence to back that argument,” he said.

“We want the Land Court to act like the administrative tribunal it is meant to be, enabling those in the community who are directly affected by a project to have their day in court to object, and then advise the minister of its recommendations.

“Instead, the current Land Court process lacks checks and balances, is too costly, too technical and too lengthy. As the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham recently said, 'everyone deserves their day in court, but not four years in court.”