Fish questions Shorten as Batman votes

A protester in a fish suit has prodded Bill Shorten on the future of the Great Barrier Reef as tensions bubbled to the surface during the Batman by-election vote.

The proposed Adani mine in Queensland has been a hot topic as voters take to the polls to decide who will win the marginal federal seat.

Environmental activists want the project stopped, and the Greens have largely focused their Batman campaign on fighting the controversial mine.

Mr Shorten this week said he did not support the coal project, but promised a Labor government wouldn't tear up Adani's existing approvals.

At a polling booth alongside Labor candidate Ged Kearney, Mr Shorten was accosted by a big blue fish seeking clarity on where Labor stood on the issue.

"Will you help protect my home, Bill?" asked a protestor, dressed as Dory from the film Finding Nemo.

"Will you protect my home and stop the Adani coal mine?"

Mr Shorten said it wasn't Labor who started the Adani project, despite some believing this to be the case.

"The Greens have tried to say that Labor's starting this coal mine. It's not," he said.

"I think people are confused.

"The Greens haven't got a plan for the environment. They've just got a slogan."

Australian Conservation Foundation campaign director Paul Sinclair said the people of Batman cared about stopping the mine, even though its in another state.

"The Adani mine threatens to contribute to the death of the Great Barrier Reef," he said.

"Australians don't want this mine. The people of Batman don't want this mine.

"People want representatives in the Australian parliament who will oppose this mine and have a clear plan for stopping it."