To understand the impacts and changes of Alcoa’s proposed bauxite mining expansion, local residents are invited to a ‘Town Hall’ meeting in Mundijong next Wednesday, August 6.
Hosted by various conservation groups, the meeting will specifically look at the impact of Alcoa’s bauxite mining operations in the Darling Range and Alcoa’s proposal to clear another 11,500 hectares of the Northern Jarrah Forest.
The public meeting will be held at the Mundijong Community Resource Centre from 6pm to 8pm, with guest speakers including University of Western Australia’s adjunct senior research fellow and chair of the Jarrahdale Forest Protectors Jeff Bremmer, former president of WA’s bushwalking body HikeWest Dave Osbourne, and Bindjareb Noongar man and First Nations cultural educator George Walley.
Deforestation, 60-years of failed forest rehabilitation, loss of habitat for threatened species, air pollution and health threats from bauxite dust which contains 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, will all be discussed in the public meeting.
A further Town Hall event will be held in Kalamunda on 13 August, with an online forum on 18 August.
Public comment on Alcoa’s proposal to clear an area of threatened species habitat in Perth’s water catchment zone equivalent to approximately 27.5 Kings Parks or 5,355 Optus Stadium playing surfaces will close on August 21.
Also being considered in the proposal is an increase in both production at Alcoa’s Pinjarra Alumina Refinery and the rate of bauxite mining at its existing Huntly Mine.
The public commentary and feedback on Alcoa’s proposed mining increase was introduced by the Environmental Protection Authority for the first time in 60 years.
The town hall events have been 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.
To find out more details about the meeting and to register attendance, visit www.endforestmining.org.au/town-halls-2025.
