The Australian Financial Review reports that as farmers in Queensland and NSW warn that their precious water resources are threatened by mining proposals, the commission has told a parliamentary committee that it believes there is "significant scope to improve the mine planning and approval process".

NWC research highlights the need for changes to environmental assessment processes to take account of long-term mining effects and of the cumulative impact of multiple mines on water supplies.

"Future developments, including mining in the Namoi [in northern NSW] and coal-seam methane gas extraction in southern Queensland could, if not adequately regulated, impact on the surface and groundwater systems at both local and regional scales," the NWC warns.