Who are the “Corporate Culprits” responsible for, or benefiting from, the continued destruction of WA’s native forests? And what can you as a consumer, shareholder or citizen do about them?

The major “players” in the logging of WA’s forests are:

• the Forest Products Commission (FPC: the government agency which exists to facilitate and promote the logging of public native forests);
• Sotico Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of Wesfarmers Limited). Sotico was formerly known as Bunnings Forest Products, but Wesfarmers changed its name to protect is rapidly expanding Bunnings Hardware chain from a consumer backlash);
• Blueleaf Pty Ltd (Greenbushes jarrah sawmill);
• M&B Sales Pty Ltd (Nannup jarrah sawmill);
• Auswest Timbers Pty Ltd (Pemberton karri sawmill).
• Marubeni Australia Ltd: WA’s native forest (and plantation bluegum) woodchip company, calling itself WA Plantation Resources Pty Ltd. Still woodchipping old growth karri and marri trees for export.

These companies and the FPC are the driving force behind the logging, often by clearfelling, of about 10,000 ha of jarrah and karri forest per year. These companies receive huge subsidies from the government (i.e. the public), in the form of disgracefully cheap log prices and direct payments. For example, Blueleaf, M&B Sales and Auswest have between them been paid millions of dollars by government to take over and operate mills at Greenbushes, Nannup and Pemberton respectively.

Wesfarmers Sotico used to be WA’s monopoly native forest sawmilling and woodchip company. It sold its karri and marri woodchipping operations but still has jarrah sawmilling operations in three South West towns (Yarloop, Collie and Manjimup). Wesfarmers Sotico is in the process of selling off these remaining components of its once huge native forest logging investments to a joint venture of “furniture manufacturers” headed by Jensen Jarrah Pty Ltd.

About 750 hectares of forest, mainly jarrah forest, are cleared each year for mining. The main culprits are:

• Alcoa (“of Australia”) World Alumina Limited and Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd (both American conglomerates mining bauxite for aluminium production);
• Boddington Gold Mines;
• Cable Sands (owned by Nissho Iwai Corp of Japan), a sand mining company targeting WA’s remaining unique tuart forests and sensitive wetlands.

These mining operations, especially for bauxite, involve the felling of huge quantities of jarrah and marri trees (and many other species) and the total destruction of the forest ecosystem. Most of the wood is pushed up into heaps and burnt. The bauxite mining operations are profitable because successive governments have virtually given away the forest and the land it grows on to the mining companies under long term “State Agreement Acts”.

SIMCOA Operations Ltd, a subsidiary of Shin Etsu Corporation of Japan, uses jarrah in the production of silicon at its smelter at Kemerton near Bunbury. In recent years in response to community pressure SIMCOA has commenced a programme to reduce its use of jarrah and to source more wood from minesite waste instead of State forest logging operations. WAFA opposes the use of jarrah by SIMCOA. However, until such time as Alcoa and Worsley are stopped from mining the jarrah forest, SIMCOA should source all its jarrah from minesite wastes.

1. The WA Forest Alliance is campaigning for a worldwide boycott of all jarrah products, including:
   • jarrah furniture,
   • jarrah flooring,
   • jarrah roofing timber,
   • jarrah railway sleepers,
   • jarrah firewood.

   As long as logging in our jarrah forests is manifestly unsustainable, destroying wildlife, habitat and community values, people should avoid jarrah in any form.

2. Help us oppose the expansion of ALCOA’s and Worsley’s bauxite mining operations. Alcoa wants to double the size of its bauxite mining and refining operations, despite widespread community concerns about environmental and community health impacts. Worsley wants to expand its operations into lower rainfall, higher salt-risk areas. The WA government should not agree to this expansion, which may simply mean that the bauxite miners will speed up their mining and exhaust the resource in a shorter time, and leave WA with a legacy of degradation and ill health.