ALCOA’S HISTORY IN WA

• For over 60 years, Alcoa has mined the Northern Jarrah Forest under a State Agreement signed in 1961 – before modern environmental law existed!
• In that time, it has cleared over 32,000 hectares and not one single hectare of the forest has been rehabilitated to government standards.
• In 2022, while Jess Beckerling MLC was Director of the WA Forest Alliance, she filed a third-party referral that triggered the first EPA assessment of Alcoa's Mining Management Plans.
• But before the EPA could even get started, the WA Government handed Alcoa an Exemption Order allowing clearing to continue throughout that assessment – a decision that should never have been made.

ALCOA’S EXPANSION PLAN

• Alcoa has proposed to clear a further 11,458 hectares of the ancient and irreplaceable Northern Jarrah forests  – nearly 29 times the size of Kings Park.
• Their proposal is currently under assessment by WA's Environmental Protection Authority – the EPA received a record 59,000 submissions from the public.
• The Department of Water and Environment Regulation rejected Alcoa's mining plan in its entirety, and the Water Corporation has said that if the proposal was to go ahead, a drinking water contamination event in Perth would be considered "certain".
• Up to 9 endangered species face critical habitat loss, including Black Cockatoos already on the brink of extinction – with over 150,000 potential nesting trees at risk of destruction.
• Alcoa's proposals would release approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of opening 18 new coal-fired power stations.

ALCOA’S EXEMPTION ORDER

• Rather than halt clearing during the EPA assessment, the WA Government granted Alcoa an Exemption Order in 2023 – allowing destruction of the forest to continue.
• Alcoa’s Exemption Order should never have been granted.
• Jess Beckerling MLC has reported three suspected breaches of the Exemption Order to DWER, including a jarrah tree left with a buffer of just 8.7m (when 10m is required by the conditions), the destruction of the Kingsbury Marri, and the Hollowbutt Jarrah – cleared to within 2m of its base.
• The investigations into the suspected breaches reported have been appalling. In every case there remain serious questions to be answered. Jess is pursuing the evidence via FOI concerning the first suspected breach.
• In the case of the Hollowbutt Jarrah, DWER's own consultant found a breach had occurred – then DWER engaged a second consultant using a different methodology to conclude there had been no breach. 
• Following sustained community pressure and multiple suspected breaches, the Cook Labor Government has announced it is reviewing the Mining Management Plan and will revoke Alcoa's Exemption Order – but has confirmed it will immediately issue a new one, ensuring no interruption to Alcoa's clearing.
• A 14-day public feedback period is now open – anyone can write to the Environment Minister to demand Alcoa stop clearing while the Exemption Order is revoked.

ALCOA’S TRACK RECORD

• Alcoa was found by Australia's advertising standards regulator to have misled the public by falsely claiming it had rehabilitated forests destroyed for bauxite mining – breaching four of five environmental advertising standards.
• Alcoa received a record federal “fine” for illegal clearing – and were allowed to keep on clearing.
• The forest has never been rehabilitated to government standards in over 60 years of operations.

TAKE ACTION

Join our campaign to protect the forests and stop Alcoa. We are formidable when we stand together! 
We won't stop until we stop Alcoa.