Melbourne, Oct. 8 (PTI): Protesters rallied across Australia yesterday against Indian mining giant Adani's planned Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland, hitting the streets in a bid to stop the 16.5-billion-dollar venture that has been delayed for years over environmental and financing issues.

Thousands joined rallies in Sydney, Brisbane, Melborne, the Gold Coast and Port Douglas in North Queensland as part of a National Day of Action, according to media reports.

"If this mine does go ahead it drives us into a dirty future and Australia is a country that's smarter than that," Simon Fosterling, a Bondi surf lifesaver at the Sydney protest, that attracted around 2,000 people, was quoted as saying by ABC news.

"I have a two-year-old daughter and I don't want to have a conversation with her in 10 years' time (when) she says to me, 'Dad, why didn't you do something?'"

Protesters spelled out "#STOP ADANI" by standing in formation on the sand.

Sydney "Stop Adani" campaigner Isaac Astill called the construction of the mine an international issue. "It's going to be the biggest coal mine in the southern hemisphere at a time our climate is crumbling," Astill said. "It's an international issue and that's why we're seeing people around the world and in Australia coming out in thousands to say no to Adani."

Reports said around 2,000 people rallied in Melbourne's Princes Park carrying placards reading "Coal=CO2!!!" and "Protect Our Future".

Australian Conservation Foundation CEO Kelly O'Shanassy said she hoped the "big day of action" would send a strong message that taxpayers did not want their money subsidising the project.

"It will affect every single living thing on Earth, that's why people in Melbourne and Sydney and Canberra and Adelaide and Cairns all care about this mine not going ahead," O'Shanassy said.

Over 200 people turned out at Perth's Cottesloe Beach and more than 250 rallied in Hobart, where speakers included former Greens leader Bob Brown.

Adani Australia CEO Jeyakumar Janakaraj said the company was committed to creating jobs in Australia and there was "large support" for the project in regional Australia. "We are focused... the project is needed in the community and we have their whole support," he said. "Adani is very focused to get jobs started in the next few weeks."

Janakaraj conceded there was a loud minority voice against the project but said the anti-mine protests did not reflect the correct picture of how the project was being received regionally by the local community.

He also confirmed that the early works would start in the next few weeks.

Janakaraj said an Adani India festival last night in Townsville, Queensland, had attracted 20,000 people, which was an indication that the local community supported the project.

Speaking at the festival, minister Coralee O'Rourke welcomed the company's commitment and also praised Adani for adhering to and working with the government to deliver a job-creating project.

Adani and the Queensland government have highlighted that the mine will prove beneficial for the region. The company this week announced it would base more than 1,000 fly-in, fly-out workers in both Townsville and Rockhampton.

Environment activists are, however, concerned about the potential impact on the Great Barrier Reef as the coal would be shipped through areas close to the national icon.

There are also concerns that the coal burned would contribute to climate change, the biggest threat to the reef.