Newsletter #9 – Nov/Dec 2025

In this issue

• Interim Report of Phase 2.1 of the Optimisation Assessment Report
• Why our region is perfectly placed for a population and economic boom
• Tour of southern irrigation schemes
• Latest on our stakeholder engagement
• Qld Government’s new water rebate for irrigators
• Update on our Customer and Community Engagement Program

If our project was a football team, we have just come into the sheds at half time up by 30 points with the wind at our backs for the second half.

We have now reached a significant milestone for our project with the completion of the Interim Report of Phase 2.1 of the Optimisation Assessment Report.

Effectively this phase has helped us confirm the project’s viability and define a strong, evidence-based case for funding support from the Commonwealth and State. 

The Western Corridor plant produces purified recycled water [PRW] – our users, like users in other States, only need A+ water – so there will be a significant difference in cost between the water produced and what is actually needed. We will price both types of production so we can advocate for the type of water we want at the appropriate cost.

The good news for our project is that the benefits identified and quantified by some of Queensland’s brightest economic and environmental minds are indeed substantial and provides a strong case for consideration by both levels of government to invest in our scheme. In short, by solving the problems of our water needs, we deliver on their policy and environmental outcomes.

As shared in the last monthly newsletter our economic update of the 2022 Detailed Business Case showed that our scheme will deliver almost $270 million in additional production year on year and add almost a net of $174 million annually to Queensland’s Gross State Product. For every $1 invested by governments in our scheme, taxpayers will receive almost $11 in return.

As we head into the second half of our assessments, and the more technical aspects of our scheme including design and the final Optimisation Assessment Report by June next year, we do so with confidence that our work so far has provided significant momentum and optimism to get the job done.

We are currently providing our Interim Report to government and briefing them on it. As soon as we have done so we will then release it publicly via our project website. We will let you know when the full report is available to read.

Regions on the rise and why the Lockyer Valley and Somerset are in the box seat

Prominent Australian Demographer Bernard Salt earlier this year addressed a conference of local government representatives in Canberra. His presentation and insights highlighted the significant opportunities already under way across regional Australia and what’s coming.

It is clear in his work that those regions within the two-hour drive radius of our capital cities have the most to gain. In the SEQ corner it puts the likes of the Lockyer Valley, Somerset, Scenic Rim and Ipswich in the box seat to take advantage of this surge to the regions.

Some of the key insights from his presentation include:

• The world’s population is expected to increase by 25% from 8 billion in 2020 to 10 billion by 2060, significantly lifting the demand for Australian resources, particularly food.
• Such is the rise to the regions that by 2070 more working age Australians will be living in the regions than our cities.
• By 2026 about 15% of the workforce is expected to be working from home full-time, compared to 4.7% in 2016 and it’s the regions and the lifestyle they are increasing choosing to call home.
• An increasing number of young people are heading to the regions in search of affordability, lifestyle and a sense of community.
• Regional case studies, including Esperance in WA, show that crop farming is experiencing a resurgence off the back of the move to the regions.
• Australia has expressed a goal of lifting agricultural exports by 40% by 2050. To get there we will need strong and vital towns to deliver services to support the farming sector. (Note the Queensland Government has set a target of increasing primary industries production in the State to $30 billion by 2030 and the Commonwealth has set target of increasing agriculture exports to $100 million over the same period.)

In summary, there is an expectation that the regions will experience a surge in growth over the first half of the century that will change the face of Australia. For many regions agricultural production and agri-businesses, will provide the foundation to build this new look Australia. Our farming sector will need the support of their towns and the services.

Mr Salt’s presentation reinforced the critical importance our project can play in building the foundations to underpin and support the growth expected.

Southern irrigation scheme tour

Over November 4-5, the Mayors and members of the Collaborative toured two southern irrigation schemes which provided great insight into two successful grower supported schemes.

The tour included the Willunga Recycled Water Scheme (7000ML/year) in South Australia and the servicing the wine sector, as well as the Kooragang Island Recycled Water Plant in the Hunter Valley (6000ML/year), suppling both industrial and agriculture. Both plants are operated by coNEXA. While both plants produce much smaller volumes than the 22,000ML scheme our project is proposing, it was a great opportunity to hear about the stable production and water security delivered to customers.

The tour gave the Collaborative valuable insight into two successful irrigation schemes strongly supported by their customer base.

A big thanks to Collaborative grower representative Gordon Van der Est for organising.

And don’t forget we are already using A class recycled water just north of Brisbane at Wamuran – on pineapples, strawberries and the like. We visited them in June this year.

Recycled water on crops is not new – it’s a smarter way of using scarce water.

Key stakeholder engagement ramps up ahead of Christmas

Our Mayors have been incredibly busy over November and December with their advocacy for our project.

The highlight being the opportunity in early December to brief both Water Minister Ann Leahy and Assistant Water Minister Sean Dillon on our Interim Report. Both Minister Leahy and Assistant Minister Dillon indicated their support of our project and importantly acknowledged the significant benefits it will deliver for not only our region, but our State. They commended the project for the work done to date and on the high quality of our report. Our Mayors described the meeting as incredibly positive and productive. It was great way to finish the year.

Thanks also to our Mayors our project has gained the important and critical support of the Council of Mayors (SEQ).

It’s not just our Mayors Milligan and Wendt who are passionate supporters of the project, but other SEQ Mayors see the real benefits as well. COMSEQ was provided a brief project update at its November board and formally endorsed a letter of support for our project. This is a fantastic outcome to have the region’s mayors on board as part of our coalition of the willing in addition to our Strategic Advisory Group. 

We look forward to providing the COMSEQ board with a more detailed briefing in the new year as part of our ongoing advocacy program.

Our Chair, Mayors and Somerset CEO Andrew Johnson also recently met and briefed the new Seqwater chair John McEvoy and new Seqwater board members Amanda Cooper and Amanda Kenakafe supported by CEO Emma Thomas. We were very impressed with the engaged questioning and discussion with them being very supportive of us working together for project success. We are working with them to address issues they might have and their understandable responsibility to urban water users.

Seqwater, as the owner/operator of the WCRWS, will continue to be a key stakeholder and to that end the project’s Senior Leadership Group, involving council CEOs and the CEOs of Seqwater and UU met again in December to progress our project.

With the finalisation of the key pricing and benefits assessment, we will continue our focus on engaging and briefing our priority stakeholders at both a State and Federal Level ahead of Christmas.

Mayor Milligan met with key advisors for Federal Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt and the Minister for Industry and Innovation Tim Ayres during a Canberra trip, two key ministers in any future funding decision by the Commonwealth. Post the Canberra briefings, our Chair also had the opportunity to brief Federal Minister for Environment and Water Murray Watt.

Our Chair briefed the new Director General for the Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers Bronwyn Blagoev in November. The department remains a strong and active supporter of our project.

Importantly, our Chair provided an update to new Queensland Food Growers’ Commissioner Rachel Chambers on our interim report. Rachel remains a strong supporter of our project and has responsibility for helping to deliver the State’s Prosper 2025 Strategy to lift primary industries production to $30 billion a year and beyond. Rachel is also leading the State’s input into the new National Food Security Strategy currently under development.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Crisafulli Government has announced it will invest almost $51 million over the next two years to subsidize irrigation prices.

The investment offers owner-operated irrigation businesses earning primary production income a with a 15% discount on water costs. Applications are now open and close 31 December 2027.  

Irrigators can apply online via QRIDA’s portal:

The fund with be administered by the Queensland Rural Industry Development Authority (QRIDA). To read more detail please see the link below.

OUR AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IS UP AND RUNNING

Finally, a reminder that our new Customer and Community Awareness Program is underway with new project LinkedIn and Facebook sites up and running.

The campaign will run until the end of December and then re-start for a month in February next year.

If you haven’t already, please link into the sites below and follow and post as the program progresses.

There will be fresh content each week as we seek to ensure our local communities and potential scheme customers are aware of the project and the benefits it will deliver.

The LVSWSS forms part of the Water Initiatives in the Lockyer Valley commitment being delivered under the SEQ City Deal, a partnership between the Australian and Queensland governments and the Council of Mayors SEQ, with 29 commitments being delivered to generate long-lasting benefits for the fast-growing region.

The Water Initiatives in the Lockyer Valley commitment is comprised of the LVSWSS and the SEQ Agricultural Water Assessment (SEQAgRWA), which is developing longer-term water security planning for the region. The LVSWSS is funded with contributions from the Australian Government of $10 million and Lockyer Valley Regional Council and Somerset Regional Council of $0.8 million. The Queensland Government has committed $2.5 million to the SEQAgRWA.