Cotton company reaped $52m windfall in sale of water rights to government

Deal with Eastern Australia Agriculture, which was done without a tender, raises questions over taxpayer value

One of Australia's largest cotton companies, Eastern Australia Agriculture (EAA), sold water rights to the federal government in July last year for $79m and then booked a $52m gain on the sale.

The deal, which was done without tender, will raise questions about whether the government paid over the odds for the water in southern Queensland.