Environment Minister Greg Hunt has failed to justify his government's claim that "vigilante" green groups are unfairly disrupting major developments in court, a parliamentary committee says, as speculation mounts that another Abbott-era attack on the environment has been quietly abandoned.

It has been almost seven months since the government proposed new laws that would strip conservation groups of the right to launch a legal challenge to environmental approval for large infrastructure and mining projects. It followed a Federal Court bid by a grassroots community group that threw a spanner in the works of Australia's largest coal project, Adani's proposed Carmichael mine in central Queensland – a move former prime minister Tony Abbott described as "sabotage".

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt's claims of green 'vigilantes' have failed to stack up. Credit:Fairfax

Under the proposed changes, the right to mount a court challenge would be limited to people directly affected by a development, such as a landholder.

The move drew public outrage and stalled in the Senate after failing to win support from Labor, the Greens and some crossbenchers.