The laws will benefit companies proposing to mine coal in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, with the four proposed mines able to take up to 1770 gigalitres of water, over three-and-a-half Sydney Harbours, during their life.

The Queensland Resources Council hailed the Palaszczuk government’s decision to restore the principles of “ecologically sustainable” development back to the heart of the Water Act.

The QRC sat in on a government-stakeholder briefing last Friday on this and other government decisions on the Water Act.

“Coal seam gas water is one of the most complex regulatory regimes in Australia and applying this to existing mining projects presents a major challenge to ensure that existing water rights are preserved and protected,” QRC CEO Michael Roche said.

“These are the same serious transition issues that QRC raised with the previous minister for natural resources and mines, Andrew Cripps, when the amendments were tabled in September 2014. QRC stands ready to continue to work through these important transition issues with the present minister Dr Anthony Lynham and his department.”

Though in opposition Labor had promised to scrap the previous Newman government laws giving coal miners increased powers to take associated underground water, or water that has to be removed to allow for the extraction of the resource.

The public would no longer be able to challenge miners taking the groundwater.

Roche said the ALP’s new changes to the Water Act were “never sought” by the resources sector, and in fact “some aspects remain of concern”.

“Despite that, the resources sector can see benefits in having a consistent system of regulating water use which will make life simpler for landholders and other water users,” Roche said.

The previous Newman government excluded peak environmental groups from the consultation process when it sought to fast-track major structural changes to the Water Act, including instead peak industry and farming groups.

As a result of being kept in the dark, environment groups ran what Roche called a highly effective but “totally misleading” campaign around over-allocation of water systems and supposed risks to the Great Barrier Reef.

“The reality was that the only risks of over allocation came from proposals to fast track large-scale irrigated agricultural projects, not resource projects,” Roche said.

“The government has made it clear today that it will close off those loopholes for agriculture.”

He threw down the challenge to environmental groups to do the “hard work” of helping to design the best regulatory system to deliver ecologically sustainable development – “or are they more intent on using any excuse to disrupt and delay job-creating resources projects?”

A leaked document from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines says the reforms will provide "certainty for landholders and the resource sector. Statutory rights to groundwater for both the mines resources and (petroleum and gas) sectors will enable a consistent approach and provide certainty for landholders through make good obligations on resource tenure holders".