Conservation groups will host a ‘Town Hall’ meeting in Mundijong next Wednesday, 6 August, looking at the impact of Alcoa’s bauxite mining operations in the Darling Range and its proposal to clear another 11,500ha of the Northern Jarrah Forest.
The public meeting will be held at the Mundijong Community Resource Centre from 6-8pm, with guest speakers including: Jeff Bremmer, UWA Adjunct Senior Research Fellow and Chair of the Jarrahdale Forest Protectors; Dave Osbourne, former President of WA’s peak bushwalking body HikeWest; and George Walley, Bindjareb Noongar man and First Nations Cultural Educator.
Issues to be discussed include deforestation, 60-years of failed forest rehabilitation, loss of habitat for threatened species, air pollution and health threats from bauxite dust (containing silica), the very real possibility of water supply contamination, the significance of the Northern Jarrah Forest from a First Nations perspective, and the impact on world class nature-based recreation trails such as the Bibbulmun Track.
A further Town Hall event will be held in Kalamunda on 13 August, and there will also be an online forum on 18 August. 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 are supported by End Forest Mining, 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.
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.