Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has been accused of shedding "crocodile tears" over the approval of the giant Shenhua coal project planned for the Liverpool Plains, after department officials revealed he failed to seek detailed information or make any formal comments opposing the open-cut mine.

At a Senate inquiry into a bill to give landholders the right to reject coal mining on their properties, officials from the departments of environment and agriculture said they were unaware of comments from Mr Joyce or his department to the mine's federal approval process.

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce at the National Press Club earlier this month. Credit:Andrew Meares

Officials from the agriculture department also said they did not provide any detailed reports on the mine to Mr Joyce.

"To my understanding [there was] no comprehensive, single briefing" on the Shenhua project, Mr Ian Towers, a director in the agriculture department, told the inquiry on Tuesday in Canberra. "I myself have provided small bits of information to the minister."