‘A free pass’: Alcoa pushed back from Perth’s drinking water, but not everyone is happy

October 29, 2026 — 4:45pmThe WA Greens have called new exemptions handed down to bauxite miner Alcoa by the state government “a free pass to operate with impunity in WA’s forests” and vowed to introduce legislation to ban forest mining within the state.The comments come as the state government introduced a new exemption order for Alcoa and announced it will approve the company’s 2025-2029 Mining and Management Program “imminently”.Alcoa mining of bauxite at its Myara site in the jarrah forest of south-west WA.Anon.In June, the WA government announced it would update Alcoa’s exemption order to reflect a new mining plan from the company and to provide “certainty and consistency to both the regulator and Alcoa”.The new restrictions include increasing protection buffers for water reservoirs by prohibiting mining within two kilometres, and increasing protection buffers for black cockatoo nesting trees and significant trees in the Huntly mining area from 10 metres to 50 metres.The regulations also include a new definition for black cockatoo nesting trees based on identification by an independent fauna specialist in addition to new definition and qualification requirements for independent fauna specialists.There will also be a reduction in the bauxite miner’s exploration drilling footprint.Alcoa will be required to introduce mandatory fauna surveys, GPS recording, tree tagging and fencing prior to mining, while it will also be a requirement that the company’s Compliance Assessment Plans must be reviewed and resubmitted every six months.The 2025-2029 MMP approval will extend only to areas in the program that had previously been referred to the state’s Environmental Protection Authority, or were currently under assessment by the watchdog, and can only be implemented during the life of the new exemption order.In 2023, WAtoday revealed Alcoa’s mining posed a risk to drinking water in Serpentine Dam, with internal documents obtained by this masthead revealing the depths of concerns over the situation within the state government.Responding to the new restrictions announced today, WA Greens forest and woodlands spokeswoman Jess Beckerling said the government had granted Alcoa “another free pass from our nature laws”.“This American company will continue its highly destructive, risky clearing and mining of the Northern Jarrah Forests, despite the profound community opposition,” she said.“While all other mining companies are required to wait for the outcomes of an EPA assessment, Alcoa inexplicably keeps getting free passes from our nature laws.“This is the company responsible for the most significant threat to Perth’s drinking water, the key driver of extinction for the South West’s black cockatoos, the primary deforestation culprit in WA, and is one of WA’s major carbon polluters.“And yet the Cook Labor government continues to give Alcoa a free pass from our Nature Laws.Beckerling believed West Australians would be outraged by “this absolute abrogation of responsibilities from the Cook Labor government”.“This new 38 page-long [exemption order] has just been published, it does appear to have some minor improvements compared to the previous order, but these new conditions are a smokescreen and completely fail to prevent potentially catastrophic impacts to forests, wildlife and water,” she said.“It is time to say enough is enough, that is why I will be introducing a Bill to Parliament this November to legislate a ban on forest mining. ”An Alcoa spokesperson said the company welcomed the government’s decisions to grant a new exemption order and approve its 2025 – 2029 Mining and Management Program.“We are committed to operating in line with our stringent operational requirements which provide strong protections for the environment,” the spokesperson said.“Alcoa remains focused on meeting evolving stakeholder and community expectations as we continue to transition to a more contemporary approvals framework for our mining operations. Environmental assessment of our current and future mining regions is ongoing, with ministerial decisions expected during 2027.“Our operations directly employ about 4000 people in WA, with around 60 per cent living in the Peel and South West regions. In 2025, we invested $2 billion with WA suppliers and provided $6.7 million in support to local community organisations.”Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn acknowledged community interest regarding the future of bauxite mining in the Northern Jarrah Forest.“We recognise the importance of this region in supporting WA’s water supply, biodiversity, recreation, and tourism,” he said.“The new conditions will deliver enhanced protections for public drinking water sources, black cockatoo habitat and other environmentally significant values.“Our government is committed to delivering strong environmental protection and management, while also recognising the economic contribution of mining and safeguarding local employment.”From our partners