Latest reports show that climate activists have targeted the family home of Woodside Energy’s boss in what the company said was an escalation of protests over its gas business.
The firm’s chief executive, Meg O’Neill, was quoted as saying “extremist” protesters accompanied by camera crews trespassed on Tuesday morning at her Perth home in the affluent suburb of City Beach. “This was not a ‘harmless’ protest,” she said in a statement. “It was designed to threaten me, my partner and our daughter in our home.
He said that 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.
Woodside said that the protest was an unacceptable escalation of protest activity that was designed to threaten and intimidate, adding that the group, understood to be Disrupt Burrup Hub, had no interest in engaging in “respectful and constructive debate” about Woodside’s activities.
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A spokesperson for the company was also quoted as saying that the protest distracted from “the real work being undertaken to achieve decarbonisation”. Police confirmed an incident had taken place in City Beach earlier in the day.
“About 6.45am, officers attached to the state security investigation group attended a home in City Beach as part of an ongoing investigation,” a spokesperson said. “Two men, aged 34 and 31, and a 19-year-old woman were arrested and are assisting police with their inquiries.”
According to reports, the protest comes a day after a magistrate rejected a police application for an order to stop some of the group’s members communicating while on bail for charges related to other protests that targeted Woodside.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
