First of all, a massive thank you to everyone who donated to our end of financial year appeal! Thank you so much for partnering with us and thousands of people across Western Australia, to protect our wildlife and environment, and to secure an incredible sustainable future for all of us. You’re making a huge difference!

It was particularly heartening to see the strength of our community in the past few weeks, as we’re about to take on one of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies - and we’ll need to do it together. We even visited one of their West Australian facilities, and the sight was shocking. Check out Piers’ update below to discover what we found.

What else happened in June? Read on for your highlights!

A message from Piers about our visit to Chevron’s gas export facility:

“In early June, we visited Chevron’s giant Wheatstone gas export project. I've seen a few big projects like this, but even I was shocked. At night, we could see the giant gas flare from 100km away, burning like a toxic sunset, 24 hours a day.

Between Chevron’s Wheatstone and Gorgon gas plants, this single company will be responsible for nearly 20 million tonnes of carbon pollution each year. That’s around a quarter of our state’s total pollution, making Chevron WA’s biggest polluter by far.

To make matters worse, Chevron is making huge profits exporting WA gas - but they don’t pay any royalties to the State Government, and they haven’t been paying any tax, so all of those profits have been going offshore - along with our gas.

If Chevron were required to invest in projects like renewable energy, tree planting, and restoring ecosystems, we would capture more jobs and other benefits here in WA, while reducing the environmental impacts of these mega projects.

Few people know what this giant polluter is really up to in one of the most remote parts of the state, so we filmed this video for you to explain the issue, and what can be done about it. It would be great if you could share it with your friends and family to spread the word!”

A message from Jess about our old growth forests:

“Despite clear public commitments before the election from WA Labor to protect High Conservation Value forests and transition the industry to sustainably managed plantations and farm forestry, ancient old-growth giants were felled this month near Pemberton. These felled Marri, Karri, and Jarrah trees were hundreds of years old, and provided critical habitat for wildlife. At present, federal wildlife protection laws do not apply to native forest logging.

And to make things worse, native forest logging like this has been a loss-making proposition for the State, meaning it is effectively subsidised by taxpayers like you and me.

There is an opportunity right now for the McGowan Labor Government to review the current logging plan that was inherited from their Liberal predecessors, however it looks like this will only occur with significant public pressure. We’ve already hand-delivered a petition of 15,000 signatures, so let’s ramp it up. Will you email your Labor MP now, and ask your friends to do the same?”

A message from Sarah about Plastic Free July:

“We’ve been preparing for a very special Plastic Free July this year, as it’s also the first month of Western Australia’s ban on single use plastic bags. It’s exciting to think what could be next - which of the items we avoid this month could be banned statewide by this time next year? You can sign up for Plastic Free July here.

I’ll be doing the challenge too, and like last year, will share my experiences on the Plastic Free Blog. But this year, we’re going to do things a little differently, and publish your experiences too! If you’re doing the challenge and would like to write a blog post, I’d love to receive it at [email protected].

The plastic bag ban is a great first step in the journey to a Plastic Free WA, and we were encouraged to hear the Premier and Environment Minister share their support recently for a ban on takeaway containers and straws as well. If that’s what you’re giving up this July, who knows, it could soon be a thing of the past for everyone else too!”

A message from KA about Nuclear Free WA:

“It is imminent that Federal Environment Minister, Josh Frydenberg, will choose between a uranium mine and unique species found nowhere else on the planet. The WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) warned that the mine would cause extinction, and now it is up to Minister Frydenberg to make a decision.  

Living underground, the wildlife under threat at Yeelirrie is very rarely seen - but our environmental laws are supposed to protect all creatures great and small. Please tell Minister Frydenberg not to approve extinction, then ask your friends to do the same. Thank you!”

And a taste of what’s to come…

• It’s Plastic Free July! Check out some great community events in our Facebook events calendar
• Thu 5, Fri 6, & Sat 14 Jul: Albatross the Film - with Sea Shepherd Marine Debris Campaign Australia in Perth and Exmouth
• Thu 5 Jul: Blue the Film - with Plastic Free July at the Raw Kitchen in Fremantle

Thank you for everything you do for our wildlife and environment - we’re so grateful to have you in our community!

See you soon,

Sarah and the team at CCWA

P.S. If you’re interesting in volunteering with us or one of our groups, or know someone who is, we have some new voluntary positions available!