¶ MORE than 50 protestors gathered outside South32’s Perth headquarters last week to voice their objections to the miner’s Worsley Alumina expansion.
Earlier this month, the Federal Government joined the State Government in giving the green light for the project, under which South32 will expand its Boddington bauxite mining operation and develop new mining areas.
The approvals pave the way for a 15-year extension of the Worsley refinery’s operating life and the creation of 150 jobs.
However, the WA Forest Alliance and the Wilderness Society organised the snap action to protest the expansion, which they claim will threaten the habitat of endangered species, including woylies, ringtail possums, black cockatoos and the Quindanning spider orchid.
Wilderness Society senior campaigner Jenita Enevoldsen said the expansion “gives permission to bulldoze thousands of football fields of threatened species’ habitat”.
Ms Enevoldsen said Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek had not listened to the community over corporations.
“She has not applied the Global Biodiversity Framework or Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 and end extinctions when assessing this project,” she said. 
“The approval of this project threatens the northern jarrah forests and its biodiversity, climate, culture, water and future generations. The minister has shown that nature is not a priority to this government, and they’re failing to do their job and protect nature.”