Government's Northern Endeavour oil vessel cleanup set to exceed $2b
Woodside sold the project to an insubstantial company to avoid a few hundred million in decommissioning costs: now it and its competitors will pay the price.
The WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
WA Premier Mark McGowan warned Alcoa to lift its game or face curtailed mining, but his successor Roger Cook slashed water supply protections after a possibly empty threat from the US miner.
"The government is allowing Alcoa to do whatever they friggin want," according to a long-term campaigner for better regulation of WA's alumina refineries.
The $13 billion company will just get a warning letter for secretly creating "an unacceptable risk to drinking water quality."
The WA environment minister wanted to tackle bureaucrats "at the desk doing the same thing for 15 years, telling people why something can't be done."
Every story straight to your inbox and the occasional round up of info and comment.