Woodside boss takes out restraining orders on protesters who showed up at her home

Protesters who turned up at the home of Woodside boss Meg O’Neill with an ABC film crew in tow have been slapped with restraining orders.

Woodside Energy chief executive Meg O'Neill.

Woodside Energy boss Meg O’Neill has taken out restraining orders against four protesters who turned up at her home with an ABC film crew in tow.

Violence restraining orders (VROs) have been issued against four Disrupt Burrup Hub protesters who attended Ms O’Neill’s home early on August 1, accompanied by a film crew from ABC program Four Corners.

The incident kicked off a wave of condemnation with Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong expressing concerns and Ms Rowland demanding an explanation from the ABC as to how their crew happened to be there at the same time as the protesters.

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman has also called for a Senate inquiry into the matter.

After initially refusing to identify the crew as a Four Corners team and then saying that the crew had no idea of what was to eventuate that morning, the ABC initiated an internal review which a week and a half later found that those public statements were incorrect.

The ABC issued a statement late on a Friday afternoon which said, “The review does indicate the team did have some awareness of what was planned’’.

“To that extent, the element of the previous statement issued by the ABC concerning knowledge of what specific actions might occur prior to the event did not reflect all relevant information subsequently available and was incorrect,’’ the ABC said in a lengthy statement.

“We will be investigating how this inaccuracy arose further to ensure this does not happen again.’’

The ABC also said it would be “reviewing and if necessary, updating its editorial guidance about when mandatory upward referral is needed to appropriate senior management’’.

Disrupt Burrup Hub said via a social media account on Friday that “this is just the latest attempt by Woodside and WA Police to shut us up about Woodside’s Burrup Hub’’.

“It’s also a clear attempt to prevent the ABC from running a Four Corners story that will expose the entire police operation at the Woodside CEO’s house. It won’t work.’’

Disrupt Burrup Hub said the protesters who were arrested already had bail conditions preventing them from approaching Ms O’Neill or Woodside assets, and were intended to gag them from speaking publicly.

“The only clauses of the VRO not already covered by those (bail) conditions state the campaigners must not ‘make any reference to [the Woodside CEO] by any electronic means, including by using the internet and any social media application’ or ‘cause or allow any other person to do so’,’’ the organisation said.

The group is protesting the expansion of energy projects on the Burrup Peninsula in WA’s Pilbara region, with Woodside’s Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 projects targeting eight million tonnes a year of new gas from offshore wells starting in 2026.

The ABC would not comment on Friday as to whether it would be using the protest footage or about the matter generally.

Woodside has been contacted for comment.