Double standards for forest conservation in Western Australia?

Double standards for forest conservation in Western Australia?

Friday 16 May 2025

Federal environmental approval recently granted for expansion of the South 32 Worsley bauxite mine has given the green light to clearing of a further 3855 hectares of native forest around Boddington south-east of Perth. Mine clearing will predominantly impact public forest in a landscape where native vegetation is already heavily fragmented due to past agricultural clearing and mining.

These forests are known to provide important habitat for eight threatened fauna species including woylie, numbat, chuditch, western ringtail possum and quokka, along with three species of forest-dwelling cockatoos. Other conservation dependent fauna and threatened plants occur within the area to be affected by mining.

Cumulative impacts from the Worsley mine expansion are in direct conflict with the vision and goals for management of public forest land articulated in the Forest Management Plan 2024-2033. This plan is intended to prioritise forest health and biodiversity of public forests and to manage forests to maintain or enhance carbon storage and improve climate resilience.

In September 2021 the Western Australian Labour government announced the end of commercial timber harvesting in native forest and has since spent $80 million of public funds on transition measures to support affected workers and communities.

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Source: Australian Rural & Regional News (written by Dr Lachlan McCaw AFSM, forest scientist)

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