Source : the age
By Jesinta Burton
Four climate protesters who targeted the home of Woodside boss Meg O’Neill have each pleaded guilty to attempted trespass and attempted unlawful damage over the incident, which was filmed by an ABC crew.
Jesse Noakes, 36, Gerard Mazza, 33, Matilda Lane-Rose, 20, and Emil Davey, 24, arrived at O’Neill’s western suburbs home at 6.45am on August 1, 2023, intending to throw paint at the house and chain themselves to a gate to prevent O’Neill from being able to leave.
Joanna Partyka, Gerard Mazza, Matilda Rose, Emil Davey and Tahlia Stolarski outside Perth Magistrates Court following the hearing on Tuesday.Credit: Jesinta Burton
But the protest over the company’s mega-project in the state’s north was foiled by WA Police who were lying in wait, intervening after the group arrived and arresting them as an ABC documentary crew’s cameras rolled.
The incident was labelled “extreme” by O’Neill, who went on to take a violence restraining order out against the four charged people, who were all members of the Disrupt Burrup Hub activist group.
ABC’s flagship investigative program, Four Corners, was also lashed for its involvement in the incident, and was ordered by WA Police to hand over its raw vision.
On Tuesday, the group of four had the more serious charge against them – conspiracy to comment an indictable offence – dropped.
They then all pleaded guilty to attempted trespass and attempted unlawful damage.
They will be sentenced next month.
Meanwhile, fellow protesters Tahlia Stolarski and Joanna Partyka have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges laid over the same incident — despite not actually participating in the City Beach protest.
Outside court, Stolarski expressed disappointment over the ABC’s decision to hand over the footage that ultimately resulted in the charges being laid, a move she blamed on pressure from Woodside.
The matter has been set down for a three-day trial in September.
Lane-Rose told reporters outside court the incident and legal proceedings that followed hadn’t deterred her from “standing up for her future” and advocating for action on climate change, referencing the devastating wildfires that have swept Los Angeles and destroyed 14,000 structures.
“It is estimated there will be one billion people displaced by climate change by 2050; [at which time] Woodside’s North West Shelf venture will still have another 20 years of operation,” she said.
“We’re already seeing fires like those in California, all of those people losing their homes. What about [Woodside] going after their homes?
“It’s the pollution of [Meg O’Neill’s] company that is driving this crisis: I think she is just as guilty of targeting people’s homes as I am.”
The group has spearheaded a series of co-ordinated protests against the $70 billion over its plans to develop the Scarborough gas field and expand the export plant on the Burrup Peninsula.
The WA government green-lit the company’s plan to run its North West Shelf plant for another 50 years in December, ending a six-year-long approval process and clearing the way for its contentious $30 billion Browse venture between Woodside, BP, Mitsui, Mitsubishi and PetroChina.
The hub on the Burrup Peninsula in WA’s north-west is expected to generate 4.3 billion tonnes of emissions over its lifespan, more than 10 times the nation’s current annual total.
Under the approval, Woodside is required to undertake a review of operational measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions, lodge a new marine management plan before 2026, document its environmental performance, monitor air quality and consult Murujuga traditional landowners.
Woodside has previously declared its support for respectful debate around climate change, but has condemned protests that disrupted or posed a risk to its employees.
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