“A shameful and outrageous abrogation of responsibility”: CCWA condemns approval of clearing of 3,885ha of native forest for South32’s bauxite mining expansion
Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek has approved South32’s bauxite mining expansion in the Northern Jarrah Forests south of Perth. South32 now has approval from both the State and Federal Governments to proceed with its mining expansion plans.
The approval provides for 3,885 ha of forest and woodland to be cleared. This is in addition to South32’s previously approved Extended Mining Area of 13,663ha, bringing the total area of Northern Jarrah Forests to 16,019 ha or 160 square kilometres. The mining will also see the clearing of previously rehabilitated areas and the loss of pine plantations which have become vital food sources for the Carnaby’s cockatoos.
A major recent study published in Restoration Ecology in 2024 found that restoration of forests following bauxite mining in the Northern Jarrah Forests is failing.
The Northern Jarrah Forests have been identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2022) as one of a handful of Australasian forest and woodland ecosystems at risk of climate collapse. The IPCC recommended an end to clearing of the forests to improve their resilience. In the past 14 years, WA’s south west forests have experienced two major forest collapses following extremely hot and dry summer seasons. Black Cockatoos are currently facing a starvation crisis in south west WA due to a lack of food in drought impacted forests.
Comments attributed to Mia Pepper, Campaigns Director at the Conservation Council of WA:
“This is an outrageous decision from the Federal Environment Minister that will have profound impacts on endangered and critically endangered wildlife.
“Habitat clearing is the primary driver of extinction for multiple forest and woodland dependent species including the three South West Black Cockatoos and the critically endangered Woylie.
“It flies in the face of the Minister’s zero-extinction pledge to be clearing thousands of hectares of critically endangered wildlife habitat.
“Western Australians deeply love the Carnaby’s, Baudin’s and Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. Multiple community projects are underway to prevent their starvation right now but we cannot improve their plight while thousands of hectares of their critical nesting and feeding habitat is still being destroyed.
“Minister Plibersek promised us ‘nature positive’, zero extinctions and halting the loss of nature. This shameful decision is the precise opposite of these promises.”