WA Premier Demands Answers from Public Broadcaster Over Climate ‘Extremist’ Protest

The logo for Australia's public broadcaster ABC is seen at its head office building in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 27, 2018. Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

Western Australian Premier Roger Cook says he was “appalled” by the actions of three radical climate activists and a camera crew who allegedly trespassed into the home of energy chief Meg O'Neill.

Jesse Noakes, 34, Gerard Mazza, 31, and a 19-year-old woman, along with a camera crew from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), were met by counter-terrorism police at 6:45 a.m. at the Perth home of the CEO of oil and gas giant Woodside Energy.

Their alleged plan was to spray paint Ms. O'Neill’s home and for one individual to be locked to the premises.

Premier Cook said he would demand answers from the public broadcaster about why authorities were not notified about the extremist climate group’s intentions.

“I was absolutely appalled yesterday to hear about these extremists seeking to terrorise the [chief executive] of Woodside and her family in their home,” Mr. Cook said on Aug. 2.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook speaks to media at Dumas House in Perth, Australia on Jun. 29. Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

“This activity, these actions are just unacceptable and not on, and they must stop.”

Mr. Cook said the ABC camera crew “had prior notice and understood that these people were going to [Ms. O'Neill’s] house, her personal home, to take this action.”

He added that there “was a conspiracy to withhold details of this unlawful action from the police.”

The Disrupt Burrup Hub has coordinated an ongoing guerilla-style protest campaign against Woodside over developments in the Burrup Peninsula, about 30 kilometres west of Karratha in the north-western Pilbara region—a mining-rich area of Western Australia.

Police charged a protester with one count of criminal damage after she spray-painted the Woodside Energy logo on the front doors of the Western Australia parliament in Perth, Australia, on Feb. 22, 2021. Courtesy of Disrupt Burrup Hub

The Burrup region is considered culturally significant to Indigenous Australians and contains thousands of petroglyphs by Indigenous people.

Premier Cook said he had communicated his outrage and sympathy with Ms. O'Neill.

“It is simply not good enough that people would seek to terrorise someone in their own home and I am very pleased people have been taken into custody and arrests have been made,” he said.

ABC Says Camera Crew Had No Prior Knowledge

ABC has denied that a camera crew from its “Four Corners” investigative team had any prior knowledge of the intentions of the trio.

“A Four Corners team attended the protest action to gather material for a potential report later this year,” the media outlet said. “Just prior to the action the team received a tip to go to an address, they had no knowledge what was at the address or that it was someone’s house.”

“They had no knowledge of what action was going to occur there. When they arrived the police were already in attendance, in numbers.

“The ABC team remained on public land observing what was happening and getting some vision, as journalists do.

“They at no time went on to private property or had any involvement in what was happening. The ABC team in no way colluded with the activists,” the statement said.

The radical trio and a 21-year-old man were later charged with one count of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

Mr. Noakes and Mr. Mazza spent the night behind bars before appearing in Perth Magistrates on Aug. 2.

A prosecutor said the group had carried out surveillance of the property leading up to the protest.

The pair were granted bail with a $10,000 surety and strict conditions, including a ban on going near Ms O'Neill. The other two were released on bail and will appear in court later this month.

Disrupt Burrub’s Ongoing Campaign

Earlier this year, in January, two radical activists linked to Disrupt Burrup Hub attempted to vandalise a 130-year-old painting by spray painting the Woodside logo (using a stencil) onto Fredrick McCubbin’s “Down on His Luck” which has been part of the Art Gallery of Western Australia since 1896.

One vandal then appeared to glue her hand to the wall beside the $3 million (US$2.07 million) painting.

In February, another protestor, Joana Partyka, spray-painted the Woodside logo onto the front doors of the state’s parliament house, while another, musician Trent Rojahn, used a fire extinguisher to paint the words “Disrupt Burrup Hub” across the facade of the energy company’s building in the CBD.

In June, the extremists released a foul-smelling gas into the headquarters, forcing the evacuation of 2,000 staff.

Woodside responded last week, sending a legal letter to a campaigner and initiating civil action.

According to AAP, the energy company said it would claim compensation for lost productivity and other damage.