The federal resources minister has accused the ABC of reporting fake news and thrown his weight behind the energy giant Adani, amid Indian finance ministry investigations into the company.

Matt Canavan attacked the ABC for what he described as one-sided coverage of Adani’s plans to build Australia’s biggest coalmine and accused the national broadcaster of having a massive blindspot when it came to the project.

The Liberal National party senator from Queensland also said the Adani Carmichael coalmine would improve the environment in central Queensland by setting aside land for birdlife and returning water to the Great Artesian basin.

The ABC has run a series of reports around the complex Adani network, including reports of allegations against the ultimate parent company, Adani Enterprises Limited.

From the outset of the interview with Kim Landers on the ABC radio program AM, Canavan attacked the broadcaster’s coverage on Adani in the past week.

“So many of your reports have been nothing but fake news,” he said.

Canavan said the ABC had given no voice to the people of north Queensland in its reports over the mine in the Galilee basin and ABC audiences would not know that the biggest issue in region was a lack of jobs.

Asked if he was aware of the investigation by the Indian finance ministry into Adani, Canavan said he had asked the department for advice about it.

“As your story indicated, there are no findings at this stage on this investigation,” the minister said. “It’s not unusual, of course, for tax authorities and others to investigate large companies, as has happened in this country with many companies and have involved large settlements with the Australian Taxation Office.



“But I don’t know the status of these allegations apart from the fact that they remain allegations.”

The Coalition is considering a $1bn loan for a railway for Adani through its Northern Australian Infrastructure Fund (Naif). Canavan said he would take advice from the “independent skills-based board” established to assess projects.

He said the issue of whether the government held off on the loan application – until Indian finance ministry investigations into the company were completed – was a matter for Naif.

Canavan said he was very confident in the Naif board and his department had advised there was nothing in Adani’s company structure that was inconsistent with Australian laws.

“I’m very confident that the Adani project, hopefully it will happen, it will deliver billions of dollars of taxes to both the Queensland and Australian governments,” Canavan said.



“Those taxes will go to fund things like the ABC and the good work you do do – and you do do a lot of good work – but we’ve all got our blind spots, Kim, and unfortunately the ABC has a massive one here on this project.”

Asked whether the Cayman islands structure had been assessed by the government, Canavan said he welcomed Adani’s decision to have a head office in north Queensland – in Townsville.



And he contrasted the decision with the ABC, accusing the organisation of leaving central Queensland without cover by moving a video journalist from Rockhampton to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

“It’s unfortunate that the ABC had an unhappy milestone recently, with more than 50% of your staff are based in Sydney,” he said. “Maybe that does colour your reporting on issues like this?”

The ABC’s annual report shows 53.6 % of its full-time-equivalent staff are in New South Wales.

The minister said the federal government had placed 36 strict conditions on the Adani project, and predicted the company would improve the environment by setting aside areas and using high-quality coal to displace lower-quality coal.



“They will do things that will improve the environment here in central Queensland and they’ll protect an additional 31,000 hectares for the black-throated finch,” Canavan said.

“They will limit the drawdown on the springs in the area and also return water to the Great Artesian basin – around 730 megalitres a year.



“So these are very strict conditions and this project will be a net environmental plus for the world. Not only will it protect the environment here in central Queensland, it’ll also be using very high-quality coal, which will displace coal that is not as high quality in India or Indonesia, and it’ll be a good thing for the environment.”

The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, said Canavan’s comments showed the “lunatic fringe” was in power.

“For Matt Canavan to suggest that Adani’s Carmichael coalmine will be good for the environment, in contrast to all scientific evidence, shows that the lunatic fringe of the Turnbull government is running the show,” Di Natale said.

“Matt Canavan’s comments are an embarrassment and if [the prime minister] Malcolm Turnbull is serious about tackling dangerous climate change he will give Australia an early Christmas present by stopping the Adani coalmine from opening and stopping Matt Canavan from opening his mouth.”

A spokesman for the ABC said Rockhampton would still have three ABC news reporters, plus two other broadcast journalists and a camera operator who contributed to a range of programs and platforms.

“The Sunshine Coast, the second-fastest growing region in Queensland, has two [reporters] and is severely restricted in its ability to produce news and TV stories relevant to its local area and a wider regional audience,” the spokesman said.

“Capricornia remains a well-resourced bureau and maintains a larger news team, as well as two other reporters outside of the news team, who can produce television and video news stories. It will also continue to have a dedicated camera operator.”