Woodside’s $12.5bn Scarborough gas project in Western Australia has stopped after Greenpeace staged a protest at a floating platform on Sunday, with two activists taken into police custody.
What we know:
- Greenpeace said the two activists had slept overnight on Woodside’s semi-submersible unit, located around 375 km off the coast, in the protest that started on Saturday and disrupted operation (Reuters).
- Four activists on Saturday scaled the 70,000-tonne unit and displayed banners with the message “Stop Woodside’s Dirty Gas. Save Scott Reef” (Reuters).
- “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” (ABC).
- The protest at Scarborough took place over concerns that Woodside’s proposed Browse project could inflict damage to Scott Reef, a remote coral system and foraging area for the endangered pygmy blue whale (SBS).
- Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King condemned the activists’ “reckless behaviour”. WA Greens fossil fuels and climate change spokesperson Sophie McNeill rejected King’s comments, calling Woodside the “selfish one” amid the increasing climate crisis (ABC).
Read more: How Woodside lost to this protester (The Saturday Paper)