Police ‘ambush’ climate protesters outside home of Woodside boss Meg O’Neill
By Peter Milne
Four climate protesters were charged in Perth on Tuesday for targeting the home of Woodside boss Meg O’Neill, with an ABC film crew documenting the incident.
Lawyer Zarah Burgess, who represents activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub, said two members caught at the City Beach house had been charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and had their bail refused.
Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill has led Australia’s largest oil and gas company for two years.Credit: Trevor Collens
“When protesters arrived at Ms O’Neill’s house, they were met by at least six police officers who stormed out from inside the property and immediately arrested them,” she said.
“What this indicates to me as their lawyer is that police have stepped up their monitoring of the group’s activity.”
The two protesters – Jesse Noakes and Gerard Mazza – will appear at Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.
A WA Police spokesman said two others – a 21-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman – would appear in court mid-August on the same charge.
An ABC TV crew were there to film the protest for an upcoming story and had nothing to do with the protest beyond reporting it, the public broadcaster said in a statement.
Officers from the state security investigation group – which includes anti-terrorism in its responsibilities – attended a home in the ocean-side suburb of City Beach about 6.45am Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation, according to a police statement.
Burgess said three Disrupt Burrup Hub members were arrested at the house and two others were arrested in subsequent home searches.
In a statement, Woodside condemned the actions of a “group of extremist protesters who trespassed at the family home of CEO Meg O’Neill”.
“The activists were accompanied by camera crews in what was an organised and deliberate act designed to intimidate Ms O’Neill and her family,” the statement said.
“This is an unacceptable escalation in activity designed to threaten and intimidate by an extremist group which has no interest in engaging in respectful and constructive debate.”
O’Neill thanked the police for their swift response.“This was not a ‘harmless’ protest,” she said.
“Such acts by extremists should be condemned by anyone who respects the law and believes people should be safe to go about their business at home and at work.”
Climate activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub has heavily targeted Woodside, which is developing the Scarborough gas field to be processed at its Pluto plant on the Burrup Peninsula near Karratha.
The area – known as Murujuga by traditional custodians – is home to more than 1 million ancient rock art engravings nominated for World Heritage Listing.
Disrupt Burrup Hub claims Woodside’s operations there and its proposed expansion are the biggest new fossil fuel project in the country and could produce billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2070.
It has carried out a series of actions against Woodside this year, including the release of stench gas at its Perth headquarters in June, forcing the evacuation of about 2000 staff members.
The arrest comes a day after Noakes, Mazza and one other protester bypassed a police bid to stop them from communicating with each other.
Burgess accused police of making misleading claims to a court for anti-association bail conditions usually reserved for outlaw motorcycle gangs. Noakes, Mazza and Tahlia Stolarski are accused of involvement in a failed bid to shut down Woodside’s annual general meeting in April.
They appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Monday over a burglary charge related to the incident, expecting prosecutors to hand over a brief of evidence.
Instead, police made an application to prevent the campaigners from communicating, Burgess said outside court.
“It was an application that was designed to cut the activists off at their knees ... an application that was made on a very misleading basis,” she said.
“These kinds of conditions that the police applied for are what we would normally see in relation to outlaw motorcycle gangs, not peaceful climate activists.”
Burgess said it appeared police were continuing with a crackdown on lawful protest by climate activists and the court rejected the application.
Last week, Woodside’s lawyers sent a lawyer to a Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigner and said the company wanted to launch civil court action against members of the group.
Allens law firm said in the document, seen by this masthead, that Woodside had suffered lost productivity and other damage as a result of the group’s activities.
It also requested the addressee hand over evidence about the group and other protesters within seven days to avoid a Supreme Court application being filed.
with AAP
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