 While there Cotton received a cheque of US$500,000 for the New Zealand Agent Orange Trust from the makers of agent orange on behalf of Vietnam War veterans affected by the herbicide.From 1989 to 1990 he was the director of royal visits.Following his retirement from the diplomatic service in 1994, Cotton remained living in Sydney where he had most recently been New Zealand consul-general, and was appointed the Australian representative on the New Zealand 2000 task force set up by the New Zealand government to maximise opportunities arising from the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.