‘Monumentally destructive decision’: Protest over gas plant approval

Climate activists have held a snap protest outside a premier’s office over the approval of the largest gas plant in the southern hemisphere.

Protesters have laid down on the floor of Western Australia’s Dumas House in protest of the state government’s approval of a 50-year extension for Woodside’s North West Shelf at the Burrup Hub, the largest gas plant in the southern hemisphere.

Holding banners and placards, climate activists walked into the building that houses WA Premier Roger Cook’s office and lay on the floor, singing in unison and holding a model of Mr Cook dressed as a chef with the planet in a flaming pan,labelling the Premier as “Roger the Cook”.

NewsWire understands the Premier’s office was still fully operational during the protest.

A snap protest, led by the Conservation Council of WA and Murujuga Traditional Custodians, was also held outside Woodside’s headquarters in Perth about 8am on Friday.

Protesters enter WA's Dumas House. Picture: Save our Songlines

The protesters lay on the floor. Picture: Save our Songlines

A spokesperson for WA Police told NewsWire there were no issues from protesters at the Woodside headquarters.

Police confirmed two people were issued an infringement and two were issued a move on notice at Dumas House.

On Friday afternoon, Mr Cook told reporters “everyone is entitled to protest peacefully” and the nickname given by the protesters “could have been worse”.

“We want all these protests to be done in an orderly way and a cooperative way,” he said.

“I hope the protesters feel they’ve got their message across and can move on so we can continue to function properly at (Dundas House).”

Mr Cook also hearkened back to his time as a student political leader in his youth, designing protests with “maximum disruption for maximum impact” and “moved on” once the group had “got their message across”.

According to Mr Cook, the extension of the North West Shelf project would extend the life of the Karratha Gas Plant and was an “important step in having the capability to provide gas into the future”.

“We know it’s going to be an important part of what we do in the future to maintain our standard of living and to maintain our prosperity,” he said, adding the WA government was “leading the country” on actions “towards a clean energy future”.

Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper is outraged by the approval. Picture: Save our Songlines

With an approved extension until 2070, the North West Shelf would make Woodside’s Burrup Hub the largest fossil fuel project in the southern hemisphere.

The decision will now be in the hands of Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, who will decide the Albanese government’s response to Woodside’s Burrup Hub.

As part of the protest, the activists argued the approval could have serious damage for the UNESCO World Heritage-nominated Murujuga rock art, believed to be the world’s largest and most diverse collections of rock art engravings dating back thousands of years.

Mardudhunera woman and former chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, Raelene Cooper, said she was horrified by the extension approval, arguing it was going to threaten “our living songlines and environment”.

“This is such a special place and it is really unbelievable to me that Woodside are allowed to destroy it,” she said.

“Murujuga is my country and it holds my songlines – the rock art is sacred to my people.

“My family’s stories are carved in the rocks at Murujuga, but Woodside aren’t just threatening our cultural heritage, they’re threatening our living songlines and environment.

“Once the toxic gas has eroded our sacred sites, the knowledge and identity of who we are as traditional custodians will be lost and gone forever.

“It saddens me, and it makes me angry, but this isn’t just about the survival of my culture, it’s about the survival of all people. The same toxic gas destroying my rock art is also causing destruction for our planet. It is heartbreaking that any government would allow this to continue.”

Ms Cooper is awaiting the outcome of her Section 10 application to the federal government for a full cultural assessment of the industrial impact of the gas plant on the Murujuga rock art.

The approval of the extension until 2070 has outraged climate activists, who claim the project would cause irreparable harm to the sacred site. Picture: Save our Songlines

Activists worry the cultural heritage site could be destroyed within decades. Picture: Save our Songlines

The protest follows a press conference held outside the WA parliament on Thursday afternoon by environmental leaders, who called out Minister for Energy, Environment, Climate Action Reece Whitby and the WA government’s decision.

CCWA fossil fuels program manage, Anna Chapman, said the WA government’s approval was a failure to the “community and future generations”.

“This is a monumentally destructive decision by Minister Reece Whitby and the WA government that seeks to lock in huge volumes of fossil fuel production until 2070,” she said.

“The evidence shows that emissions from Woodside’s Burrup Hub risk serious damage to ancient, globally significant Murujuga rock art, currently nominated by the federal government for UNESCO World Heritage status.”

NewsWire has contacted the premier’s office and Environment Minister Plibersek for comment.

Originally published as ‘Monumentally destructive decision’: Protest over gas plant approval