The Minns government has announced it will bypass the independent planning process and legislate an increase in coal production at MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant mine, following the landmark High Court decision that found the mine's expansion approval was invalid because the climate pollution from exported coal had not been properly considered.

In what the government has described as a step forward for the region’s housing recovery, flood-affected homeowners will get the first opportunity to buy into Goonellabah’s Mount Pleasant estate.