Greenpeace activists boarded Woodside’s Scarborough gas platform off Western Australia on the weekend. After staying overnight, police removed the last two yesterday (Sunday 18 October).
Early on Saturday, four activists from the Rainbow Warrior reached Woodside’s floating production unit for the Scarborough project, about 200 km off the WA coast. They climbed the platform and hung a banner. Two returned to the ship, while the other two set up hanging tents and stayed on the platform overnight.
Although the protest was at Scarborough, Greenpeace’s banner and statements focused on Woodside’s massive planned Browse project, which would be developed near Scott Reef, a place which contains many rare and threatened species and is currently relatively unspoiled.
At about 11:30am AWST on Sunday, a police special operations helicopter landed on the platform. Greenpeace says the pair unclipped themselves from their gear and were taken into custody at about 1pm. Border Force said it was working with federal and state agencies to coordinate the response.
Woodside paused pre-commissioning work on Scarborough during the occupation. The company says that project is reported to be 98 per cent complete and on track for its first LNG cargo this quarter.
They said the activists ‘deliberately and unlawfully’ boarded the unit, called their conduct ‘dangerous, reckless and illegal’.
Who is putting lives at risk?
Resources Minister Madeleine King called it ‘reckless behaviour in the extreme.’ She said several laws had been broken and that she expects authorities to pursue the matter fully.
WA Greens spokesperson Sophie McNeill rejected that, saying that Woodside, by opening new gas projects, was the one putting lives at risk, both human and otherwise.
Greenpeace CEO David Ritter said environmental groups were escalating their action in response to Browse, that the Greenpeace activists were ‘highly trained and experienced’ and that safety was a priority.
You can find out more about Greenpeace’s action and what is at stake for Scott Reef here.
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