The NSW Bar Association has criticised Tony Abbott's belief that the overturning of the proposed Carmichael coal mine by the Federal Court showed it can sabotage projects.

The prime minister believes Australia risks leaving millions of Indians in the dark if the controversial mine, approval for which was set aside by the Federal Court, doesn't go ahead.

But the president of the NSW Bar Association Jane Needham SC is concerned about Mr Abbott's comments in The Australian on Friday, alleging the courts can be used to "sabotage" development projects.

"These comments demonstrate a lack of understanding of the independent role of the courts in our democracy," she said in a statement.

The courts are not the servant of the Executive - any such implication is "inimical" to the basic principle of the separation of powers, Ms Needham added.

"They are an independent arbiter of disputes, and politicians need to understand and respect their non-partisan role."

A clearly frustrated Mr Abbott earlier warned of the domestic economic danger in blocking major projects such as the $16 billion Queensland mine.

He argued the coal extracted by mine operator Adani would help power the lives of 100 million Indians.

"Imagine what it's like to live in the modern world with no electricity," he told reporters in Cambridge, Tasmania.

Mr Abbott said the project would create 10,000 jobs.

"If ... projects like this can be endlessly frustrated, that's dangerous for our country and it's tragic for the wider world."

Australian resources were invariably much better for the environment than the alternative, Mr Abbott said, adding such projects should be allowed to proceed.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said leaders should not be showing themselves up as smarter than business or the courts.

The Adani "mess" came about because the government rushed its approvals.

"Sometimes slow and steady and having respect for good processes delivers you actually the best commercial outcome," Mr Shorten told reporters in Sydney.

The Minerals Council of Australia applauded Mr Abbott's "compelling and timely" warning.

The only outcome of continual "green sabotage" was fewer jobs, lower real wages and lower living standards, it said.

Conservationists claimed a win after the Federal Court ordered the mine's approval be set aside, when a legal loophole in Environment Minister Greg Hunt's decision was discovered.

The Mackay Conservation Group said the government was not heeding the court's decision nor respecting the independence of the judiciary.

"The government thinks it is above the law," co-ordinator Ellen Roberts said in a statement.