Overview
- Federal officials said Alcoa unlawfully cleared just under 2,100 hectares of Northern Jarrah Forest between 2019 and 2025 without required Commonwealth approvals.
- The payment is secured by enforceable undertakings described as the largest conservation‑focused commitment of its kind, funding ecological offsets, black cockatoo programs, and invasive‑species control.
- The minister granted a national‑interest exemption allowing limited clearing for 18 months, with Alcoa committing an extra A$4.2 million in offsets, capping clearing at 800 hectares per year, and targeting 1,000 hectares of new rehabilitation annually by 2027.
- The strategic assessment covers the Huntly and Willowdale mines to evaluate cumulative impacts and create a modern approval pathway, while separate assessments of Myara North and Holyoake continue under state and federal law.
- WA Premier Roger Cook called Alcoa’s environmental performance disappointing yet supported the temporary exemption, as conservation groups condemned continued clearing and questioned rehabilitation, with the government citing about 6,000 jobs and critical‑minerals supply including gallium.