Woodside renews pursuit of activists whose hoax gas stunt evacuated Perth headquarters

The letter stated Woodside “has suffered loss and damage, including costs associated with cleaning … and lost productive time to Woodside’s business” caused as a direct result of the evacuation.

Now, the company has pushed ahead with the legal action – described by the activists as a Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, or, SLAPP suit – with a hearing listed for the WA Supreme Court on Thursday next week.

Partyka – a staffer for WA Greens MLC Tim Clifford who also gained notoriety for spray-painting a Woodside logo on a Frederick McCubbin painting at the Art Gallery of WA – claimed the legal action was not an “honest bid” to seek damages, and was instead a “very clear and calculated tactic to intimidate, bully and silence peaceful citizens challenging a multibillion-dollar corporation that profits off our collective misery”.

“Far from cowing me, Woodside’s legal move serves only to confirm the significant impact of our campaign. Woodside is trying to prevent people from doing this again, because it was so successful,” she said.

Davey, who filmed the evacuation after Morrissey set of the “stench gas” in 2023, said the lawsuit was “about brand damage” to Woodside due to the protesters’ targeting of the Burrup Hub.

“Woodside’s Burrup Hub is destroying sacred Aboriginal culture and destroying the planet for future generations and our campaign has successfully called them out,” he said.

“Every Australian now understands that the gas industry is ripping us all off and refusing to pay its fair share.”

Woodside did not answer questions on the matter as the proceedings were now before the court, but pointed to a previously released statement on activism.

“Woodside condemns unlawful acts that are intended to threaten, harm, intimidate or disrupt our employees or any other member of the community going about their daily lives,” that statement reads.

“We believe these actions should be met with the full force of the law.

“It is misleading for extreme groups to describe their activities as ‘harmless’. Recent incidents have had deliberate direct impacts on people and risks to community safety, with a range of harmful consequences.”

The statement goes on to specifically mention the release of “potentially dangerous substances”, as well as illegally entering operational areas or offshore facilities and defacing art in public galleries is against the law.

“Such actions are a burden on the emergency services whose job it is to keep us safe and unnecessarily impact the everyday lives of Western Australians,” it states.

WA Greens MP Sophie McNeill described the lawsuit as “vexatious” and an “American-style legal intimidation tactic by a multibillion-dollar corporation”.

“Nothing about this is a legitimate attempt to recoup damages,” she said.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive David Ritter said the lawsuit smacked of Woodside trying to intimidate and bully opponents into submission.

“This SLAPP suit is part of an alarming global trend of corporate bullies using bad-faith legal tactics to intimidate and silence people exercising their democratic right to protest,” Ritter said.

“WA has a proud history of civil protest to establish many of the rights, freedoms and benefits that we now celebrate.

“The whales that West Australians now love so much would not have been saved without protest. This kind of action by Woodside is intended to silence such protest.”