Hi Clive, While the most significant reforms to Australia’s national nature laws were being tabled in Parliament last week, mining giants in Western Australia were busy greenwashing their destructive activities at the 2025 Biodiversity Conference. Run by WA’s five universities, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions, and the WA Biodiversity Science Institute, the conference’s aim was to ‘share knowledge to protect, conserve, and enhance our incredible biodiversity.’ Yet conference sponsors included three of the most environmentally destructive companies in WA – Alcoa, South32 and Woodside. These companies are responsible for strip mining our jarrah forests, destroying wildlife habitat and driving climate pollution – the very crises the conference was meant to address. Alcoa used its sponsorship and conference presentation to paint itself as an environmental leader. But the truth is starkly different: After 60 years of mining, not a single hectare of Alcoa’s “rehabilitation” has met WA Government standards. The company continues to claim it has rehabilitated 75% of the forest it destroyed – a claim recently ruled misleading by Ad Standards Australia. Now, Alcoa is trying to buy social license through corporate sponsorships and greenwashing. This is outrageous given that companies like Alcoa continue to lobby for weaker environmental protections. The hypocrisy is staggering – they cannot claim to care about biodiversity while undermining the laws designed to protect it. So, we called it out. When we presented at the conference on Conservation Council of WA’s forthcoming report, Back from the Brink: A Protection Agenda for Nature we held Alcoa to account – in real time.
Lastly, take this critical window of time to push for stronger environment laws – not weaker. Have your say on Australia’s environmental laws. Thanks for all that you do. Rhiannon Nature Program Conservation Council of WA
We respectfully acknowledge the Whadjuk People of Noongar Boodjar, along with the Traditional Owners of all Countries where CCWA operates. We seek to always walk alongside our Aboriginal partners, and pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Conservation Council of Western Australia · 1186 Hay Street , West Perth, WA 6005, Australia
