With 2016 now behind us it is a good time to reflect on Cotton Australia’s achievements for the past 12 months, and look ahead to the challenges the coming year will bring.
Arguably, Cotton Australia’s biggest win has been delivered in the area most crucial to our industry – access to water. In partnership with irrigator organisations, Cotton Australia’s advocacy resulted in the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) recommending a reduction in water recoveries as part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
We also secured a win with the NSW government’s announcement of a pipeline from the Murray River to Broken Hill, which will deliver a permanent solution to that city’s water supply issues and protect against the risk of further water embargoes in northern NSW.
Cotton Australia is also leading the ‘#MoreThanFlow’ campaign, which is putting pressure on the MDBA and the Federal Parliament to deliver a result that won’t sink rural communities.
On the workforce front, Cotton Australia and its allies scored a win with the successful resolution of the Backpacker Tax, which threatened the availability of seasonal workers by taxing working holiday makers at an unreasonably high rate. With the passage of a timely compromise deal through Federal Parliament, growers could again focus on preparing to bring in a bumper 4.5 million bale crop.
Through various responsible production and promotion programs, we have also been able to future-proof our industry by bolstering Australian growers’ access to cotton markets. Our participation in the Cotton LEADS™ and Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) programs have led to increased preference for Australian cotton, and also handy premiums for some growers who successfully opted into the BCI system.
While Cotton Australia achieved a great deal in 2016, there is no time to rest on our laurels. Some of Cotton Australia’s immediate priorities for 2017 include:
- Protecting access to water: Cotton Australia will continue to seek a finalisation of the Basin Plan that minimises further water entitlement acquisition and social and economic impacts, including a reduction from the MDBA’s recommended 320GL recovery target, while optimising environmental outcomes.
- Ensuring growers get a fair go on electricity pricing: Cotton Australia will build on its recent wins, continuing to push for tariff pricing reform that will result in long-term cost reductions for growers.
- Phenoxy damage: In the 2016-17 season, Cotton Australia is working to ensure the damage experienced by growers in the 2015-16 season is not repeated, uniting industry groups and regulators across agriculture through a Spray Drift Taskforce to conduct an extensive education and awareness campaign.
As we begin 2017 and start preparing for harvest, I thank those growers who contribute the full Cotton Australia voluntary levy – without your support, Cotton Australia could not achieve all that it does for growers and the industry.
To all in our great industry, I wish you the best for the upcoming harvest, and a prosperous and safe 2017.
