‘Outrageous’: Human Rights Watch blasts house arrest for alleged protester

About 2000 workers were forced from an office building on Thursday after a supposedly harmless “smoke bomb” was detonated inside.

An anti-Woodside Energy protester has been bailed on house arrest after she allegedly detonated a “gas bomb,” forcing thousands of workers from a Perth office building.

Kristen Morrissey, 49, a member of the Disrupt Burrup Hub movement, allegedly set off the smoke bomb about 10am on Thursday, sparking the evacuation of about 2000 workers in the Woodside building on Mount St.

She was charged with doing an act to create a false belief and held in custody overnight before appearing in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday.

The Perth musician allegedly set off a device that forced about 2000 workers into the street as emergency services responded.

Ms Morrissey was bailed but needs to stay at her address until her next appearance on June 13.

Disrupt Burrup claims the gas used in the alleged incident was “harmless, non-toxic ethyl mercaptan” – the additive that gives natural gas a foul odour so leaks can be detected.

However, the Western Australia Police bomb response unit is examining the device with the assistance of ChemCentre specialists.

Ms Morrissey’s lawyer Zarah Burgess says prosecutors failed to provide evidence anyone was harmed by the alleged stunt.

While Sophie McNeill from Human Rights Watch slammed the bail decision as “an outrageous move.”

“House arrest should be reserved for individuals who pose a serious risk to the community, not for a peaceful climate activist,” Ms McNeil says.

“Kristen has not yet been found guilty of any offence. This order by the magistrate is ... excessive and disproportionate.”

Workers in the Woodside building were stuck outside for nearly five hours, before finally being allowed back inside at 2.45pm.

“Woodside is monitoring the health and welfare of our employees and employee assistance program services have been activated,” reads a statement from Woodside.

“The safety of our people is Woodside’s highest priority.

“We respect people’s right to protest safely and legally, but it is unacceptable for protest action to put our people’s safety at risk.”

Ms Morrissey is due in a Perth court on Friday after allegedly setting off flares and a stink bomb to force the evacuation of Woodside's Perth office.

Disrupt Burrup claims the alleged gas attack was aimed to mimic the evacuation of Woodside’s Pluto LNG plant on Friday night due to an explosion from a flare tower – an “audible release of gas” as Woodside described it.

Meanwhile, Disrupt Burrup Hub members held a meeting outside Perth City Council’s Council House, on St George’s Tce in the CBD, after the council cancelled their booking at a community centre at the last minute.

The group had planned to meet at the nearby Citiplace Community Centre on Thursday night, just hours after the Woodside building evacuation.

A Disrupt Burrup spokesperson said it was “a shame that the City of Perth have chosen to follow the WA government and the WA police by running interference for Woodside”.

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas, appearing in a regular segment on radio 6PR on Friday, defended the cancellation.

“That’s a decision of the administration of the City of Perth, it has nothing to do with the Lord Mayor or councillors,” he told Mornings host Gary Adshead.

NCA NewsWire has contacted City of Perth for further comment.

Disrupt Burrup Hub claims the gas used was harmless, while WA Police is examining the device used.

The alleged gas bomb incident is the latest in a string of action undertaken by Disrupt Burrup Hub in their ongoing fight against the expansion of energy projects on the Burrup Peninsula in WA’s Pilbara region.

The group claims Woodside has tipped $50bn into a “mega-project” in the region, but the company maintains its only current project is the Scarborough/Pluto Train 2 development at a cost of $18.1bn.

So far this year, activists have targeted the Art Gallery of Western Australia, WA’s Parliament House, and the Perth Police Centre with graffiti.

Another Disrupt Burrup member jumped the fence at Optus Stadium during a Fremantle Dockers’ AFL game in May, stopping play for a few minutes as they waved a Disrupt Burrup Hub flag.

Woodside’s Perth office has also been the target of graffiti attacks in the past.