The Perth Hills has been home for most of my life, and it’s now where I’m raising my own family. I want to make sure the bush, catchments and communities that make this place special are protected for generations to come.
I believe the State Government has the ability to provide that certainty. If there is the political will, we can put lasting protections in place and make it clear that our part of the Perth Hills is not somewhere we want to see future exploration or mining.
That’s why I’ve been taking the case directly to Government. Below is the correspondence so far.
I ASKED THE PREMIER TO MAKE THE PROTECTION PERMANENT.
Earlier this year, thousands of Perth Hills locals made it clear they did not want exploratory drilling around our water catchments.
Those immediate plans were withdrawn, but I didn’t think that was enough.
So I wrote to Premier Roger Cook asking the State Government to give the Perth Hills something much stronger: lasting protection from future exploration, drilling and mining.
I specifically raised areas including Kalamunda, Mundaring and our important water catchments.
The ask was pretty simple. We shouldn’t have to rely on a company deciding not to drill here today. Our community deserves certainty about what happens tomorrow.
I GOT A RESPONSE. I DIDN’T GET AN ANSWER.
The Premier acknowledged the concerns of Perth Hills locals and talked about broader Mining Avoidance Zones being considered.
He also said work was underway to formally remove Mining Avoidance Zones from the existing mineral lease.
That all sounds positive.
But there was one pretty important thing missing.
The Premier did not actually commit to permanently protecting the parts of the Perth Hills I had asked about.
No commitment on Kalamunda. No commitment on Mundaring. No confirmation of where the protection would apply or when a decision would be made.
For me, that meant the main question was still unanswered.
SO I WROTE AGAIN…
If I’ve learnt anything in my short time in politics, it’s that persistence matters.
By this point, responsibility for State Development had moved to Minister David Michael, so I wrote to him and asked for a definitive decision.
This time I laid out exactly what I believe permanent protection should look like.
Permanent, publicly mapped Mining Avoidance Zones across the relevant parts of the Perth Hills.
No future exploration. No investigative drilling. No mining. No mine pits, mining roads or associated infrastructure.
And importantly, protection that applies regardless of which company comes knocking in the future.
The people of the Perth Hills fought hard to stop the immediate threat. Now I want to make sure we never have to fight the same battle again.
THE WORK CONTINUES.
I’ve written to the Premier, followed up with the new Minister for State Development, and approached local government, including the Shire of Mundaring, asking them to formally back permanent protection for the Perth Hills.
I’ll keep building support and pushing the State Government for a clear decision.
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ANOTHER RESPONSE. STILL NO COMMITMENT.
Well, I've now heard back from Minister David Michael.
He acknowledged the concerns of Perth Hills locals and pointed to the withdrawal of the immediate exploration plans.
He also confirmed the Government is working with Alcoa to update the rules governing its operations.
But when it came to the one thing I actually asked for, permanent protection across the City of Kalamunda and Shire of Mundaring, the answer was much the same.
So we're still left without a commitment. No confirmed boundaries. No timeframe. And no guarantee that future exploration or mining won't return to our Hills.
I don't think that's good enough.
Our community has already made its position clear. We deserve more than another acknowledgement of our concerns.