Whitehaven Coal managing director Paul Flynn has accused the Albanese government of stoking inflationary pressures as his company failed to meet its unit cost target and had its $6.4 billion move into Queensland hampered by a rail dispute with Aurizon.

Unit costs at Whitehaven’s NSW mines rose by 11 per cent over the past year to $114 a tonne – excluding the cost of royalty payments to governments – despite the company selling higher volumes of coal.