
Australian Border Force responds to Greenpeace protest at Woodside's Scarborough gas platform
Two Greenpeace activists were arrested after occupying a Woodside gas platform off WA to protest the company's planned $48.7 billion Browse gas project near Scott Reef.
Two people are in police custody after occupying an offshore Woodside platform about 200 kilometres off Western Australia's coast to protest against the company's gas operations.
Four Greenpeace activists boarded a Woodside gas platform 200 kilometres off the WA coast, with two setting up hanging tents to occupy it overnight.
Special police landed by helicopter and took two activists into custody around 1pm Sunday, pausing pre-commissioning work on the $12.5 billion Scarborough project.
The protest targeted Woodside's plans to develop the Browse gas reserve near Scott Reef, Australia's largest standalone oceanic reef, in a project estimated to cost $48.7 billion.
Two people are in police custody after occupying an offshore Woodside gas platform about 200 kilometres off Western Australia's coast to protest against the company's gas operations.
An Australian Border Force (ABF) spokesperson said they were working with federal and state agencies to respond to the situation after activists occupied the rig overnight and disrupted the gas giant's operations.
Images shared by environmental advocacy group Greenpeace Australia Pacific show its activists scaling a Woodside gas platform and hanging a banner in protest of the company's planned gas project at Scott Reef.
Greenpeace said four protesters travelled to the platform early Saturday morning, and two of them set up "temporary hanging tents" to occupy the platform for "as long as possible".
On Sunday afternoon Greenpeace said two of its activists had been taken into police custody.
"Special police forces landed a helicopter on the [platform] at around 11:30am AWST," Greenpeace said.
"The activists safely removed themselves from their equipment before being taken into police custody around 1pm."
Woodside confirmed the protest had disrupted operations at the rig, which forms part of the company's $12.5 billion Scarborough natural gas project.
"Pre-commissioning activities at Scarborough have been paused as part of routine procedures following the unauthorised access," a spokesperson said.
Scott Reef is Australia's largest standalone oceanic reef and a refuge for thousands of aquatic creatures and shorebirds — Woodside's plans have been heavily contested by environmental groups opposed to gas developments in the area.
Woodside's Browse gas project plans to tap into Australia's largest undeveloped offshore gas reserve, and is estimated to cost about $48.7 billion according to a Deloitte analysis.
Woodside said Greenpeace's activists had "deliberately and unlawfully" accessed the floating production unit and had "not only endangered their own safety, but that of Woodside staff".
"Greenpeace's actions have triggered a significant, potentially costly and entirely avoidable response, requiring Western Australian resources to be mobilised to manage the safety, security and operational consequences of their actions," a Woodside spokesperson said.
"The activists' conduct is not peaceful. It is dangerous, reckless and illegal."
Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter said the activists involved in the latest demonstration were "highly trained and experienced", and said care was "always taken in the health, safety and welfare of all involved".
He said environmental groups had been scaling up their activism in response to Woodside's planned Browse project.
"Greenpeace and other community organisations have been building up their activities matching that rise in community concern," Mr Ritter told the ABC.
"There is no question that our activities are increasing to match this reckless threat of Woodside."
'Reckless behaviour': Minister
Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said the activists had broken several laws, and described the protest as "reckless behaviour in the extreme".
"Putting so many lives at risk all for a 20-second TikTok ... we expect the authorities once they've done their proper processes to throw the book at them," Ms King said.
WA Greens fossil fuels and climate change spokesperson Sophie McNeill rejected Ms King's comments.
"The real selfish ones putting lives at risk is Woodside — not these Greenpeace activists — as the fossil fuel giant recklessly opens massive new gas projects in the middle of a worsening and increasingly deadly climate crisis," she said.
Five minutes for you
More from Cuppa
‘Keep away from the doctor’: a visit to an influencer’s wellness event, where the advice could killAustralian wellness influencer Barbara O'Neill, banned from providing health services in Australia in 2019, is now running UK conferences where she tells audiences to avoid doctors, antibiotics and…
Silver Ferns vs Diamonds Constellation Cup first Test - live updates and scoresThe Silver Ferns led the Australian Diamonds by 10 goals at half-time in the opening Constellation Cup netball Test in Auckland, with New Zealand dominating every position.
Astronomers discover green star 280 light-years away; what makes it glow greenAstronomers have found a white dwarf star 280 light-years away that appears green, caused by sodium interacting with helium in its dense atmosphere.
Lithuania told residents to go to shelters after detecting a flying objectLithuania briefly ordered residents to shelter and closed Kaunas airport on Sunday after an unidentified flying object was detected in its airspace.
A wave of homemade, synthetic drugs sweeps US and deepens crisisA BBC report from Ohio shows how cheap synthetic opioids like fentanyl, now cut with other chemicals, are driving a deadly drug crisis across the US.
Greenpeace forces suspension of work on Woodside gas rig, 240km off WA coastGreenpeace protesters climbed a Woodside offshore gas rig 240km off the WA coast and spent the night there, forcing the company to pause all operations on the platform.
Labor pledges freeway toll cap, Coalition vows gas ban repealBoth Victorian Labor and the Coalition are promising freeway toll caps ahead of next month's state election, with Labor offering a $30 cap and the Coalition a $50 weekly cap.
Menopause and weight gain: ‘Nourish your body, don’t punish it’Women in perimenopause gain an average of 1.5kg per year, and cutting calories too hard can backfire as a stressed body holds onto fat rather than releasing it.



