WA premier ‘disappointed’ in Alcoa after forest-clearing fine but backs exemption to keep mining
Western Australian Premier Roger Cook said he was disappointed with Alcoa’s environmental record but supported Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt’s decision to allow the company to continue mining the state’s jarrah forests.
alcoa He was fined $55 million and will have to begin a series of rehabilitation activities After the Commonwealth found he had been illegally clearing areas of the northern jarrah forest to mine bauxite for six years.
“I think we’re disappointed in Alcoa’s performance in protecting the environment and improving the environment,” Cook told ABC Radio on Thursday morning.
“Therefore, we have undertaken a series of studies with them to include them in a modern and contemporary environmental protection regulation.
“Growing up in Perth, I remember going to see their operations as a schoolboy. It’s always overwhelming to see people working in the Jarrah forest environment.
“So I think Alcoa has had a pretty negative reputation on this for years, but it’s pretty fair and the way to improve their social license is to improve their performance on rehabilitation and environmental protection.”
The $55 million fine is an unprecedented amount and will allow the US-based miner to avoid investigation.
Alcoa argues it does not need federal environmental approval for the cleanup, although it agreed to pay the fine and undertake activities including expanding conservation programs for species including WA’s three black cockatoos.
Alcoa is currently subject to an 18-month strategic review of its Perth operations with the aim of reaching an agreement between federal regulators and the company to determine the future of its mining through 2045.
As part of this, it received an exemption from Watt to continue mining for 18 months, which the company will limit to 800 hectares a year.
“We are committed to responsible operations and welcome this important step toward transitioning our approvals to a streamlined evaluation process that provides greater future certainty for our operations and employees,” Alcoa President and CEO William F. Oplinger said in a statement this week.
Cook said he understands why the exemption was granted. particularly with a critical mining partnership signed with the US government around bauxite mining by-product gallium late last year.
“This is a very important strategic critical mineral. It’s one that our partners in Japan are looking at very closely because they need to make sure they can secure the supply chain that they need around these types of really important, strategic rare earths and critical minerals,” he said.
Watt told the ABC on Wednesday he would have preferred the cleanup not to take place but said the penalty was around 10 times higher than previous sentences.
“Unfortunately we can’t undo the past, but we can force Alcoa to pay an unprecedented amount of money for doing this, and what we can do going forward is to make sure the necessary approvals are obtained for this type of work; we’ve now created a pathway for that,” he said.
Watt said the minister could shut down Alcoa’s operations, but that would put 6000 workers out of work and deprive Australia and the world of alumina and gallium.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA president Aaron Morey said the exemption to continue mining was a logical outcome that protected jobs and alumina supplies.
“Global demand for aluminum is increasing due to its essential role in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and modern electricity networks, making reliable domestic production an issue of national economic and strategic importance,” he said.
“Alcoa’s plans to recover gallium, a critical mineral used in semiconductors, defense technologies and advanced electronics, will further strengthen Australia’s role in diversifying and securing global supply chains.”
Liberal Kalamunda MP Adam Hort said Perth hills residents were concerned about the behavior they were seeing from Alcoa.
“I hope they can rebuild the trust they need in society,” he said.
But Conservation Council WA chief executive Matt Roberts said Alcoa could not be trusted when it came to its 60-year history of mining in the northern jarrah forest.
“The federal government should work with the state government on an exit policy for this company and other bauxite miners in our South West forests, with a plan to transition workers to other industries,” he said.
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Hamish Hastie is WAtoday’s state political correspondent and the winner of five WA Media Awards, including the 2023 Beck Award for best political journalism.Connect with: X or email.
