Cotton Australia is continuing to advocate for fairer and more practical energy solutions for Queensland growers. CA recently took part in a number of important meetings—talking with Energy Queensland, joining the first Queensland Agriculture, Energy and Water Council, and working with the Queensland Farmers’ Federation to brief senior advisors to the Energy Minister.

Queensland Agriculture, Energy and Water Council

Following the election of the David Crisafulli LNP Government, the Queensland Government held its first Agriculture, Energy and Water Council meeting in Brisbane this week.

The Council, which will meet three times a year, brings together the Ministers for Agriculture, Water and Energy along with major agricultural industry organisations to work through key issues affecting Queensland agriculture.

The first meeting was chaired by Agriculture Minister Tony Perrett, with Water Minister Anne Leahy also attending. Apologies were received from Treasurer and Energy Minister David Janetzki, who was called away for budget preparations.

Topics discussed included workforce and training, water pricing—including the continuation of the 15% discount on Sunwater and SEQ Water irrigation charges—key energy issues, protection of prime agricultural land, and biosecurity.

One of the key outcomes was an agreement to form a high-level Electricity Taskforce. This group will include representatives from the Ministers’ offices, Queensland Treasury (Energy), Ergon Retail, Ergon Network, and peak industry groups including Cotton Australia.

Cotton Australia also called on the government to support the development of a Subsidence Management Framework to address land subsidence impacts from coal seam gas extraction.

Energy Queensland

Cotton Australia had the opportunity to engage with the Board and senior management of Energy Queensland in Toowoomba recently. Energy Queensland is the parent company of Ergon Network and Ergon Retail, who supply electricity to most of our producers.

Cotton Australia has invited Energy Queensland Chair Sarah Zeljko, along with board members and senior executives, to visit the St George region to see first-hand the range of issues affecting agricultural electricity use. The visit aims to highlight why many users are leaving the grid and switching to diesel as their main energy source.

Cotton Australia General Manager Michael Murray said St George as an ideal area to visit, as it reflects the key energy challenges growers are facing across the production regions.

Queensland Energy Minister’s Office

Cotton Australia also joined the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) in Brisbane this week to meet with key advisors to Energy Minister David Janetzki—Bryan Singh and Oscar Green.

This meeting was a valuable opportunity to showcase the work QFF’s Energy team has done over the past decade, including coordinating hundreds of on-farm energy audits, producing case studies, and developing practical recommendations that have helped Queensland’s primary producers cut costs and reduce emissions.

It was also a chance to brief the Minister’s office on energy issues that still need to be addressed. These included:

• The impact of demand-based tariffs on episodic users like water harvesters
• Raising the threshold for Large Business classification from 100 MWh/year to 160 MWh/year
• The lack of clear tariff information for Queensland customers served by Essential Energy and Origin Energy near the NSW border
• Creating a framework to allow producers to transfer their own renewable energy between meter sites on their properties via the Ergon Network
• The potential for renewable manufacturing zones to supply cheaper power to businesses within renewable energy zones
• Limited access for some producers to the Large Business Dynamic Demand tariffs

Following this meeting, the establishment of the high-level Electricity Taskforce (announced at the inaugural Agriculture, Energy and Water Council) was welcomed as a key step toward resolving many of these long-standing issues.