Hollywood A-Lister Leonardo DiCaprio has fired a shot at Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Party for allowing deforestation in WA’s Jarrah Forests. It comes after Tanya Plibersek, Australia’s powerful Environmental Minister, okayed proposals by mining company South32 to clear 4,000 hectares of native vegetation in Jarrah forests.
That follows the WA’s environmental watchdog’s conditional green light last year for deforestation plans, enabling South32’s crew to extract bauxite, the key ingredient in aluminium. Conservationists slammed the decision at the time. And now, DiCaprio has weighed in.
In a post to his 60 million-plus Instagram followers, the actor said that 9,600 acres of old-growth forest are threatened, as are species like the “critically endangered” Woylie. “This operation will destroy critical habitat for over 8,000 species, 80% of which are found nowhere else on Earth.”
“While native forest logging was banned in Western Australia in 2024, clearance of native forests for mining is still allowed due to separate government policies prioritising mining development over protection.”
DiCaprio said the new approval now brings the total area of Jarrah Forests cleared to 38,000 acres and urges conversationalists to “protect these towering ecosystems that are already at risk of climate collapse.”
It is not the first time that DiCaprio has weighed into the debate over deforestation – and in February 2024 – he urged the Australian and Tasmanian governments to end forest harvesting in areas close to the Swift Parrot nesting sites, citing promises to prevent new extinctions.
“The Australian government has promised that it will prevent any new extinctions. Conservationists continue encouraging them to uphold their zero extinction commitment,” wrote DiCaprio. “The only way to protect the Swift Parrot, and hundreds of other threatened Australian forest species, is to end native forest logging across Australia and Tasmania.”
