Almost 2,000 people marched to Parliament on a rainy WA Day, Monday 2nd June, to demand an end to forest mining.
The rally was the culmination of the Big Jarrah Walk, a 250km, 10-day walk led by Denmark resident Ricky England from Dwellingup to Perth along the famous Bibbulmun Track through ancient and unique Jarrah forests, and raise funds for the WA Forest Alliance.
Ricky was joined by other walkers at different points along the way, with a larger group gathering in Kalamunda on Monday morning to walk together into Perth. They were met by almost 2,000 people at Supreme Court Gardens in the afternoon depsite the rain for the Big Jarrah Rally. The final leg of the walk was completed as a march to Parliament House, along St Georges Terrace. The crowd chanted along the way and stopped outside the bauxite mining company South32’s headquarters to highlight their part in the destruction of the Jarrah forests.
Once at Parliament House, the crowd heard from Noongar custodian Daniel Garlett, Ricky England, Jess Boyce and Giz Watson from WAFA, Greens MLC Jess Beckerling, and Josie Sherlock from Locals for Environmental Action and Protection. Speakers relayed stories of how forests, nature and Noongar culture are intertwined and the impact mining has on Noongar land, protesting against bauxite mining and for broader forest protection in the 70s, 90s and still today.
The rally also featured music from Nick Allbrook, best known as the lead singer in the band Pond, and Amber Fresh from Rabbit Island, who has been involved in the forest movement since the 1990s and said that “playing here felt like coming back to a second home”.
Speakers also directed the crowd to take action by making a submission to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) on US bauxite mining company Alcoa’s proposed expansion and current mining operations. The public comment period opened just a few days before the rally on 29 May and will run for 12 weeks until 21 August 2025.
As submissions are to be made on hundreds of pages of documents, WAFA is producing a guide to help the public in making submissions, which is expected to be available mid-July. People who oppose forest mining can also sign on to WAFA’s submission now at endforestmining.org.au
The Big Jarrah Walk has raised over $25,000 for WA Forest Alliance’s campaign to protect the Northern Jarrah Forests.
You can still donate here.