Conservation groups are hosting a series of ‘Town Hall’ meetings over the next two months on the impact of Alcoa’s bauxite mining operations in Perth’s Darling Range and its proposal to clear another 11,500ha of the Northern Jarrah Forest.
After a meeting in Pinjarra last month, the next meeting will take place on 23 July at the University of WA Social Sciences Lecture Theatre in Crawley, with guest speakers including forensic clinician and Doctors for the Environment member Dr Maureen Phillips, Professor Kingsley Dixon, and Big Jarrah Walk and Rally organiser Ricky England.
Issues to be discussed include deforestation, 60-years of failed forest rehabilitation, air pollution and health threats from bauxite dust (containing silica), the very real possibility of water supply contamination, loss of habitat for threatened species, and the impact on world class nature-based recreation trails such as the Munda Biddi and Bibbulmun Track.
Further Town Hall events will be held in Walyalup/Fremantle, Mundijong and Kalamunda, as well as an online forum. You can find more details and register attendance here (or visit: endforestmining.org.au/town-halls-2025).
The US mining giant has a two-pronged proposal before the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to clear an area of threatened species habitat in Perth’s water catchment zone equivalent to 27.5 Kings Parks, or 5,355 Optus Stadium playing surfaces approximately.
Also being considered is a proposed increase both in production at Alcoa’s Pinjarra Alumina Refinery and the rate of bauxite mining at its existing Huntly Mine, further escalating rates of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.
Both proposals are now open for public comment on the EPA’s website until 21 August, with the Town Hall meetings intended to update the community on what impact the expansion would have on the Northern Jarrah Forest, and the endangered species which rely on it. Those species include the Carnaby’s, Forest Red-tailed, and Baudin’s Black Cockatoos, along with Chuditch and Quokkas.
The meetings will be hosted by groups from the End Forest Mining campaign, including the Conservation Council of WA, the WA Forest Alliance, The Wilderness Society, the Dwellingup Discovery Forest Defenders, Jarrahdale Forest Protectors and the Peel Environmental Protection Alliance. This meeting is being held in partnership with the UWA Environment Guild.
In announcing the public consultation period, the EPA stated, “the unique biodiversity of the Northern Jarrah Forest, and the number of environmental factors to consider means a 12-week public consultation period is entirely appropriate”.
This will be the first time in 60 years of Alcoa’s mining operations that the public will be able to scrutinise the company’s forest clearing. Environment groups say the proposal threatens the Northern Jarrah Forest and its biodiversity, climate, culture, water, and natural heritage for future generations.
ENDS