Media release: Woodside launches “SLAPP suit” litigation against Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigners in the WA Supreme Court for loss of earnings and social licence
Emil Davey.
Woodside has this morning commenced litigation against multiple Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigners in the Supreme Court of Western Australia for loss of earnings and brand damage following the safe, successful evacuation of Woodside’s corporate headquarters in a hoax gas leak on June 1 last year. The largest energy oil and gas company in Australia has also given notice it intends to expand this punitive “SLAPP suit” litigation to encompass as many campaigners as possible.
Woodside has listed a pre-action discovery application in the WA Supreme Court this morning and summonsed Emil Davey, Joana Partyka and Kristen Morrissey to appear pursuant to Order 26A rule 3 of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1971 (WA) to give evidence as to the identities of any other campaigners involved in the “stink bomb” protest last year.
In a court summons (attached), Woodside seeks orders for “all documents” possessed by each campaigner “relating to the description of any person involved in the planning, preparation and/or execution of the Incident” and that each defendant appears in court “to be examined in relation to the description of the potential parties” involved in the protest.
On June 1 2023, Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigner Kristen Morrissey safely evacuated all employees from the headquarters of gas company Woodside with a hoax ‘gas leak’ using harmless, non-toxic “stench gas”, normally used to sound the alarm about industrial emergencies.
A letter sent by Woodside’s lawyers, top-tier international law firm Allen’s & Linklater, to Mr Davey, Ms Partyka and Ms Morrissey last year, states that Woodside “has reason to believe that persons other than you or Ms Morrissey were involved” in the hoax gas leak that successfully evacuated approximately 2,500 Woodside workers.
The letter (also attached) to Ms Partyka, who was not present at the evacuation but was arrested in a WA counter-terror police raid nearly two weeks later on June 12, states that 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.
This is the first time since the “Gunns 20” case in Tasmania in 2005 that a large resources company has sought to target an entire activist campaign in a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP suit), which refers to lawsuits brought by corporate entities to dissuade their critics from continuing to produce negative publicity. Meanwhile, Adani is currently suing individual activist Ben Pennings in the Queensland Supreme Court.
Emil Davey, a 22-year-old Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigner who is represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, said:
“This is just the latest transparent attempt by Woodside to threaten, intimidate and silence peaceful climate campaigners sounding the alarm about Woodside’s Burrup Hub. Woodside’s Burrup Hub is destroying sacred Aboriginal culture and destroying the planet for future generations with 6 billion tons of CO2 and our campaign has successfully called them out.
“This is about brand damage to Woodside, who have lost their social licence to operate the Burrup Hub as a result of our escalating campaign of high-profile actions. This legal threat is unprecedented and shows that the Disrupt Burrup Hub campaign is working.”
“Woodside are currently seeking approvals for the Browse gas expansion that would be the last and largest part of their Burrup Hub mega-project in WA. This absurd legal intimidation only makes me more determined to blockade Browse and prevent Woodside from destroying my future.”
Joana Partyka, a ceramic artist and Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigner, said:
“This is not an honest bid on Woodside’s part to seek damages as claimed – it is a very clear and calculated tactic to intimidate, bully and silence peaceful citizens challenging a multi-billion-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. The success of Disrupt Burrup Hub is the demise of Woodside, which can see its stranglehold over this state slipping away as quickly as our campaign successfully tarnishes its social licence.
“Woodside may have endless resources at their disposal to pursue legal action against me, but they sure as hell don’t have history on their side.”
Background:
The Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia is known as Murujuga to traditional custodians, a deeply sacred place that contains the largest, oldest collection of Aboriginal rock art in the world. This priceless cultural treasure is currently nominated for UNESCO world heritage listing, but the sacred songlines and stories contained in these carvings are being damaged by emissions from the Burrup Hub and face total destruction within decades. Woodside has previously been responsible for the destruction of around 5,000 sacred rock art sites in the construction of earlier parts of its Burrup Hub mega-project, including the Karratha Gas Plant and Pluto LNG processing facility.
Woodside's Burrup Hub is the biggest new fossil fuel project in Australia. It consists of the Scarborough and Browse Basin gas fields, the Pluto Project processing plant, and other linked liquified natural gas (LNG) and fertiliser plants on the Burrup Peninsula in WA’s remote northwest Pilbara region. The Burrup Hub is projected to produce more than 6 billion tons of CO2 by 2070, making it four times larger than the Adani coal mine and one of the biggest carbon bombs in the world.
On January 19 2023, Joana Partyka, a ceramic artist and illustrator from Perth, sprayed the Woodside logo in yellow paint on the colonial masterpiece ‘Down on His Luck’ at the Art Gallery of WA. The protest was subsequently endorsed by most descendants of ‘Down on His Luck’ painter Frederick McCubbin. On February 13, punk musician Trent Rojahn coated the Woodside building with a fire extinguisher full of high-pressure yellow paint and sprayed the slogan ‘Disrupt Burrup Hub’ across the glass at the entrance to Woodside’s corporate headquarters. On Tuesday, February 21, graphic designer and mum of two Tahlia Stolarski sprayed the Woodside logo six times in yellow paint on the front doors of WA Parliament.
On April 28, Gerard Mazza and Tahlia Stolarski were charged with Aggravated Burglary attempting to evacuate the Woodside AGM in Perth using harmless stench gas and smoke flares. On May 3, environmental activist Violet CoCo, the first person jailed under repressive new police powers legislation in New South Wales, sprayed the Woodside logo in yellow paint on the front of the Perth Police Centre in protest at the escalating police crackdown on climate protest in Western Australia. On May 20, musician and student Emil Davey invaded the pitch of an AFL game during Indigenous Round, sponsored by Woodside, disrupting play for several minutes with a large flag reading Disrupt Burrup Hub.
On June 1, Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigner Kristen Morrissey safely evacuated Woodside’s corporate headquarters in Perth using harmless, non-toxic ‘stench gas’ to simulate a hoax gas leak, successfully evacuating several thousand Woodside workers and stopping work for the day. On August 1, 19-year-old campaigner Matilda Lane-Rose was ambushed by more than a dozen counter-terror police lying in wait outside the house of the Woodside CEO. On September 20, Ballardong Noongar man and Deputy Chair of the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee Desmond Blurton conducted a smoking ceremony and demanded answers outside the home of Woodside director and former WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt.
On December 11 2023, Disrupt Burrup Hub campaigner and veterinarian Marek ‘Maz’ Misiewicz parked a four-wheel drive in the Perth CBD and locked himself to a concrete barrel in the boot directly outside the office of federal offshore oil and gas regulator NOPSEMA to protest their pending approvals for the Browse and Scarborough gas fields at Woodside’s Burrup Hub.
ENDS
Woodside Supreme Court summons and original letter available here.
