Queensland's premier and treasurer completely bypassed their entire state cabinet in striking the Adani "royalties holiday" deal that has resulted in the $21 billion Carmichael project being put on hold.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Treasurer Curtis Pitt formulated the controversial deal to be offered to Adani ahead of a trade mission to India in March without gaining the approval of cabinet or the state budget review committee.
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, who is also on the review committee, is understood to have only found out last week of plans to limit royalties to $2 million annually for the first seven years of the coal mine's operation.
The majority of cabinet is believed to have found out about the two-month-old deal through media reports last Friday, leading to cabinet shelving it on Monday.
A Palaszczuk government spokesman insisted no deal had been agreed to with the Indian mining giant, and they were continuing to develop a policy framework for the whole region, which would be put to cabinet.
Ms Palaszczuk, who has been under attack since in the biggest test of her leadership, refused to take questions about the saga when she faced the media on Wednesday before State Parliament.
Inside Parliament, though, she was subjected to a fiery question time with probing questions from the opposition who claimed that while the Indian agreement was being struck, Ms Trad and the Left were trying to "kill off" the mine in a meeting with activist green groups.
Liberal National Party frontbencher Jarrod Bleijie labelled the Labor government duplicitous as he outlined his understanding of the situation.
"While the premier was in India, the deputy premier was meeting with detractors of this project. The battle lines of this civil war were drawn then," he said.
Ms Palaszczuk, a member of the Right, refused to release any of the details of the deal offered to Adani, because it was regarded as "commercial-in-confidence".
Under the royalties holiday, which could cost taxpayers up to $320 million, it was understood Adani would gradually increase its payments over the life of the $16 billion mine in the Galilee Basin.
Ms Trad and the Left, also with the majority of support from Mr Pitt's Unity faction, have blocked the royalties deal on the basis it would break a pre-election promise.
Since coming to power in February 2015, Labor has overturned the previous-LNP government's pledge to help fund the rail line to the project for $460 million.
LNP leader Tim Nicholls on Wednesday said that was the right deal for the project, but could not say whether a royalties holiday would be better because he hadn't seen the details.
The Indian mining giant has reportedly confirmed the huge mine is viable even without the royalties relief.
The company has deferred Monday's board meeting set down to make the final investment decision, with a spokesman saying they were willing to wait, but not indefinitely.
Meanwhile, environmental group Lock the Gate wants the government to force Adani to pay up front the $1.5 billion it says it will cost to rehabilitate the Carmichael site once the mine operation has ceased.
