Illegal destruction of Black Cockatoo habitat in WA

Black cockatoo habitat destruction to continue in WA despite illegal activity by Alcoa

The Australian Federal Government yesterday acknowledged that the destruction of 2000 hectares of habitat by international resources giant Alcoa was conducted illegally, due to a failure to obtain the proper approvals needed to undertake the work. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has ordered that Alcoa must pay $55M to support conservation activities in response. BirdLife Australia CEO Kate Millar says the outcome neither compensates for the critical habit that has been lost, nor protects remaining habitat for black cockatoos.

“I’m completely appalled at the decisions that have been made,” Ms Millar said. “Minister Watt’s decision gives the green light to another 18 months of forest clearing by exempting Alcoa from nature laws. These laws are supposed to protect our most threatened species.”

“$55 million sounds like a lot to most people, but it is a tiny amount for a company of this size. It is also likely to be less than the value of environmental offsetting had they followed the proper legal process.”

Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo (Endangered), Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo (Endangered) and Forest Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos (Vulnerable) all depend on the Northern Jarrah Forests. The illegally cleared areas provided the birds with foraging, breeding and roosting habitat.

“Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo populations have crashed by 90% over the last forty years. Every year, as part of the Great Cocky Count, our volunteers are recording this heart-breaking decline. Every single hectare of the Northern Jarrah Forest still standing is critical. This is an iconic, much-loved species that came in second in last year’s national Bird Of The Year poll,” Ms Millar said.

“Last year, BirdLife WA spoke out against Alcoa’s plans for expanding its mining activities, alongside a record 59,000 other submissions received by WA’s EPA. To learn now that over 2000 hectares of critical forest has been cleared without approval, and that Alcoa has been given a further 18 month clearing exemption, is a slap in the face for all conservation organisations working to protect the Northern Jarrah Forests.”

A day after news of the illegal activity was announced, the Federal Government celebrated its next tranche of new national environment laws coming into effect, laws they say will protect the environment and deliver for business. Ms Millar said the government’s Alcoa decision raises serious concerns about how legitimate the government’s promises are for the environment. “Listening to Minister Watt defend this terrible decision, I thought I was listening to a Resources Minister not the person in charge of stopping Australia’s extinction crisis.

“Our research has demonstrated that the loss of these forests, the mature trees used by these birds, cannot be offset or mitigated.  Once the forests are gone, these iconic, charismatic and much-loved birds will be gone.

“Australia can’t afford to continue carving up these forests, we’ve lost too much already.”

Photo by: Keith Lightbody

BirdLife Australia Media Enquiries: Please contact James Johnson on 0423 659 324 or at media@birdlife.org.au