June 12, 2026: The WA Government is preparing to renew the Aluminium Company of America's (ALCOA) Exemption Order for bauxite mining in the Northern Jarrah Forest — through a closed committee process with no public or parliamentary oversight, while two statutory assessments remain unfinished, and while breach investigations impacting drinking water and nesting trees are still ongoing.
59,000 Western Australians made submissions to the EPA. Those submissions deserve to be heard before any new approvals are granted.
Three ministers. Three letters. Three minutes. Each targets a different part of the decision. Use the tool below to write to the ministers.
Personal letters carry more weight, make them your own. Copy the letter first, then open the email and paste it into the body.
Paste the letter into the email body and hit send.
On 3 June 2026, the WA Government announced a Notice of Intention to revoke ALCOA's Environmental Protection (Darling Range Bauxite Mining Proposals) Exemption Order 2023. A replacement order is being prepared through the Bauxite Strategic Executive Committee (BSEC) — a closed inter-agency body whose deliberations are not public and not subject to parliamentary scrutiny which has the power to create operating conditions outside of WA Law for this foreign owned corporation.
Two statutory assessments remain incomplete: the WA EPA's Part IV assessment which received 59,000 public submissions against ALCOA's expansion and has not yet reported, almost a year after submissions closed; and a Federal Strategic Assessment of ALCOA's operations to 2045. ALCOA is also currently under investigation for multiple suspected breaches of the conditions of its existing Exemption Order. Despite this, the Cook government is moving to give ALCOA a green light to continue ripping off the Western Australian people before any of these processes are complete.
Later this year, when the EPA present its findings on ALCOA there will be an opportunity for public appeal, we will keep you notified and give you the information to act.
That no new Exemption Order be issued and no new approvals for ALCOA are granted until the breach investigations, the EPA Part IV assessment, and the Federal Strategic Assessment are all completed and made public. And that any future approvals and conditions be published for genuine public consultation — not a 14-day gazette notice.
The Northern Jarrah Forest is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Around one third of Perth's public drinking water originates from within it. The Western Australian community has a right to a transparent, lawful process.
Jarrah Action is a community web page detailing the latest actions that can be taken to stop the senseless strip mining of the Northern Jarrah Forest. Information contained here has been developed through consultation with experts, non-profits, community groups and Traditional Owners engaged in this issue. Come back regularly to see what's next.