Perhaps not surprisingly, Price is a backer of the proposed legislation; Aly suggests it's really a matter of governments and mining companies "following the law" and the current law was "just fine" with no evidence it had slowed the pace of development.

Things got heated between Waleed Aly and Steve Price on The Project on Wednesday.

Matters were prickly from the start as, after telling us that no relevant member of the government was made available to speak to the show and that the radio host was the guest instead, Price was introduced with the disclaimer that his wife works in the office of the federal environment minister.

"I don't think we need to say what my wife does for a job, it's got nothing to with what I say either on the Project or on radio every night, let's get that straight," an unhappy looking Price began. He went on to say that "cashed up green groups" would "cost Australian jobs", citing the oft-repeated claim that the proposed Adani coal mines in Queensland would create "between 1500 and 10,000 jobs".

When Aly argued that the mining company's own figures quoted in court suggested fewer than 1500 jobs would be created the to-and-fro began in earnest.