Australia is the world’s largest bauxite producer, with many mining operations and large refineries on its western coast. Michele Horrigan worked there in 2023 to understand more, and travelled the countryside with Vince Puccio, who for almost thirty years has held industry to account for its transgressive actions towards the environment and his local community. Much of his work, as a member of the local action group Community Alliance for Positive Solutions, has involved collecting thousands of pages of reports, studies and government correspondence, and working with local communities affected by dust and air pollution caused by the industry. In particular this work has been about empowering neighbouring communities to challenge polluters, such as American-owned multinational Alcoa, whose Wagerup refinery near Puccio’s hometown of Yarloop have been at the centre of dust, air and groundwater pollution issues.