Cotton Australia’s water advocacy over the past fortnight has focused on several major policy issues, including the Murray–Darling Basin Plan Review, the Northern NSW Connectivity Review, Queensland Sunwater/SeqWater Annuity vs Regulated Asset Base and the Regional Planning Interest (Condamine Alluvium) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026.

To keep growers informed, Cotton Australia hosted a webinar on Wednesday 15 April, providing detailed updates on the first three issues and an overview of the broader water advocacy work underway. A video recording of the webinar is available here.

Basin Plan Review

With the May 1 deadline looming for submissions on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan Review, Cotton Australia encourages growers and community members to make individual submissions. Full details on the Review can be found here (including how and where to load submissions).

Submissions can be as short or as long as you would like, but to assist Cotton Australia has prepared some key messages that you might like to include, and they can be accessed here.

NSW Northern Basin Connectivity Review

For Northern NSW cotton growers, the Northern Basin Connectivity Review represents a very significant threat, and again there is an opportunity to provide feedback to the NSW Department. Reports of the analysis of the Connectivity Expert Panel recommendations can be accessed at Northern Basin Connectivity Program | Water. The deadline for your feedback is Friday, 15 May 2026. Please email your feedback to [email protected] .

The following slide highlights the significance of the threat, should all recommendations be accepted by the NSW Water Minister:

Collectively across the valleys this could mean a reduction in total diversions of 85Gl, which is roughly an additional 50% impact, that has been felt by the valley-based targets in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

It should be noted that how, and by how much these changes if applied would be compensated is very unclear, and it is also important to point out at this stage these changes are not NSW Government policy, but the Department will be putting options to the Minister.

Review of RAB-based irrigation prices 2027–29

As members of Queensland Farmers Federation (QFF), Cotton Australia has had access to an independent consulting report compiled by Highland Consulting that looked at the relative advantages of maintaining the Annuity approach to determining the renewals component of Sunwater and Seqwaters rural water or the adoption of the Regulated Asset Base (RAB approach).

The report examined actual and projected renewal expenditure in six schemes, and determined in all cases, in the medium to long term water charges would be lower by maintaining the annuity approach.

Consequently, earlier this week Cotton Australia lodged a submission supporting the continuation of the annuity approach. Full details of the Review, including the submission lodged by Cotton Australia, along with other submissions will be available here.

Regional Planning Interest (Condamine Alluvium) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026

The Queensland Government has introduced the Regional Planning Interest (Condamine Alluvium) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 into parliament, and it is now being reviewed by the Primary Industries and Resources Committee.

The Government claims that if passed, the Bill will strengthen protections for the Condamine Alluvium from any impacts from the extraction of Coal Seam Gas (CSG), as well as designating the drilling of Deviated Wells an Advanced Activity, requiring a Conduct and Compensation Agreement, and clarifying that subsidence that impacts on the productive capacity of the land is a compensable effect.

However, Cotton Australia is very concerned that the Bill, if passed, would immediately remove the protections available through the Regional Planning Interest Act (RPI Act) for any new infrastructure to be installed, while only applying limited new protections around water quality through deemed conditions in new Environmental Approvals.

Cotton Australia is very disappointed that the government has not taken a much more holistic approach to addressing potential critical negative impacts from CSG extraction, but in particular, through the removal of the RPI Act provisions would in fact retrospectively decrease landholder rights.

Cotton Australia has submitted that the Bill should be substantially amended by fully restoring the RPI provisions, or the government should withdraw the Bill.

Either way Cotton Australia calls on the Government to work with landholders and peak bodies to develop a more holistic approach.

Full details on the Bill, Cotton Australia’s submission (along with all submissions, and details on the Inquiry can be found here.

Cotton Australia would like to acknowledge that in responding to this bill it has been working closely with The Queensland Farmers Federation (QFF) and Central Downs Irrigators Limited (CDIL).

16 April 2026