Australian model Robyn Lawley stages naked protest against huge coal mine seven times the size of Sydney Harbour

Environmentalist Lawley fears the Carmichael will damage the Great Barrier Reef

Robyn Lawley (instagram)

An Australian model has stripped naked to protest against a huge coal mine planned for Queensland that campaigners fear will damage the Great Barrier Reef.

Robyn Lawley, 25, posted a picture on her Instagram page with "stop coal mining" scrawled on her bare stomach in lipstick to draw attention to the issue.

In a long post with the image, she wrote: "Woke up this morning to find out that our Environmental minister and the Abbott government have approved what will be the biggest mine of Australia.

"Carmichael mine will cover an area seven times that of Sydney Harbour. The only way to get coal out of Carmichael mine is via the Great Barrier Reef. Millions of tonnes of seabed will have to be dredged and dumped in the World Heritage Area to make way for port expansions to service this mega-mine."

Australia’s environment minister, Greg Hunt, approved the $16.5 billion (£9.1 billion) project on Monday and imposed 36 conditions to address environmental concerns.

''The absolute strictest of conditions have been imposed to ensure the protection of the environment, with a specific focus on the protection of groundwater,'' he said in a statement.

''I am pleased that we have been able to apply some of the strictest environment conditions in Australian history as part of this decision.''

The mine, near Clermont, will be one of the biggest in the world when completed, with the capacity to churn out 60 million tonnes of coal a year.

Most of the coal from Carmichael mine will be sent to India (Bloomberg News photo by Brent Lewin)

It will be sent via a new, private, railway line to the sea and shipped from the port of Abbot Point or Hay Point, near the Great Barrier Reef.

Indian company Adani is behind the project and claimed the environmental impact had been carefully assessed in its proposals.

The firm has previously been penalised by the Indian government for the destruction of mangroves and breached regulations in Bocha Island, a conservation zone.

Lawley lambasted the company’s track record as well as the lack of renewable energy alternatives to fossil fuel.

She wrote: "Coal is soon going to be a dead commodity only bought buy irresponsible countries who do not care about climate change and the damage on the world.

"I'm shocked and feel powerless so I decided to get people to read this one way or another, we have to stop them... Before it’s too late."

The model is a passionate environmental campaigner and carries a quote from American anthropologist Margaret Mead, which reads "we won’t have a society if we destroy our environment" on her Instragram page.

She rose of fame after appearing on the cover of both Vogue Italia and Vogue Australia’s first "plus-size" issues in 2011.

Lawley, who is 6ft 2ins tall and an estimated Australian size 12, once worked as a mainstream model but has enjoyed more success since switching to the “plus-size” category – a label she deplores.

Earlier this year, she told Clique Magazine there was a “no-man’s land” of models above the standard size six with perfectly proportioned bodies that are unable to find work.

"I don't think anyone should be called plus-size," she said. "I think it's derogatory to anyone - it's a label."