Cotton Australia General Manager Michael Murray appeared before the Queensland Parliament’s Primary Industries and Resources Committee alongside Queensland Farmers’ Federation Water Policy Officer Jo Martin to present evidence on the State Development and Public Works Organisation (Critical Minerals) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026. While acknowledging the importance of developing Queensland’s critical minerals sector, Cotton Australia said it could not support the Bill in its current form due to uncertainty over its potential impacts on agricultural land protections.

Mr Murray urged the Committee to ensure the Bill does not weaken existing protections for Strategic Cropping Land and Priority Agricultural Areas. Cotton Australia raised concerns that the legislation could expand compulsory land acquisition powers, allow key agricultural protections to be overridden through regulation without parliamentary scrutiny, remove landholders’ appeal rights, and fail to include enforceable safeguards if impacts on farmland or water exceed expectations. Cotton Australia called for significant amendments to strengthen protections for agricultural land and water, warning that without these changes the Bill should be withdrawn.

The Committee is due to report to Parliament by Friday, August 7.

Read Cotton Australia’s Full Submission on the Queensland State Development and Public Works (Critical Minerals) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026