The court found that federal environment minister Greg Hunt had not properly considered advice about two threatened species – the yakka skink (a lizard that can grow up to 40cm long), and the ornamental snake – when he approved the project last year.

Townsville Enterprise, the peak economic development, regional tourism and convention bureau for the town, said the federal government must “redouble its efforts” to deal with this latest stall as a matter of urgency.

“The legal loopholes that have further stalled the project must be dealt with by the federal government as a priority,” Townsville Enterprise’s general manager economic development Tracey Lines said.

“The mistakes made are disappointing given the investment made by Adani and the benefit to be delivered to Townsville, North Queensland and Australia. The issue needs to be fixed and fixed quickly and the federal government then needs to redouble its efforts to assist Adani expedite the project.

“Australia has the most comprehensive environmental protections and regulations in the world and these standards need to be upheld but this sort of action damages our economy, hampers our growth and ultimately doesn’t improve our environmental performance.

“We cannot underestimate what this project means for Townsville and the region. It is one of the largest mining projects in the nation with direct benefits to our city, including a major boost in confidence that will attract further jobs and investment into the region.”

Lines said the project would deliver thousands of jobs for Townsville alone, as well as $22 billion in taxes and royalties to the state.

“We haven’t seen a project of this scale since the late 1990s when investment into the region changed the face of the national economy,” Lines said.

“This investment will start with direct jobs in the resources sector such a truck drivers and diesel fitters and flow right through the economy with benefits for a range of industries from IT, health and community services as well as taxi drivers and hairdressers.

“We must also realise the impacts of decisions like this on Australia’s reputation as an international investment destination.”

The Townsville Enterprise also called on the federal and Queensland state governments to issue a strong statement of support for the Adani project to show that the company is valued for its investment commitment and to also send a positive message about investment in Australia generally and more specifically into northern Australia.