Adani Australia chief Lucas Dow says a mutual fund providing self-insurance to coal miners and suppliers would be self-sufficient within five years as he challenged both big political parties to underwrite its creation in the next parliament.

As Labor and the Coalition battle for crucial coal mining electorates in Queensland and NSW, Mr Dow said the mutual fund was necessary to sustain one of the nation’s major export industries at a time when the financial services industry was distancing itself from fossil fuels.