Activist who targeted Woodside Energy CEO’s home flags making a police complaint

An activist awaiting sentencing over his role in an ­attempted protest at the home of Woodside Energy’s CEO says he plans to lodge a complaint against WA police after an officer pulled a gun on him.

Disrupt Burrup activists, from left, Matilda Lane-Rose, Jesse Noakes, Gerard Mazza and Emil Davey attend Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Picture: Paul Garvey

An unrepentant activist awaiting sentencing over his role in an ­attempted protest at the home of Woodside Energy’s chief executive says he plans to lodge a complaint against West Australian police after an officer pulled a gun on him.

Emil Davey, a member of anti-gas activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub, said on Tuesday the conduct of police in the lead-up to the group’s foiled protest had had a “traumatic” effect on him.

Mr Davey is one of four Disrupt Burrup Hub members waiting to learn their fates after pleading guilty to charges of attempted trespassing and attempted unlawful damage.

The quartet – Mr Davey, Matilda Lane-Rose, Gerard Mazza and Jesse Noakes – were arrested shortly after they arrived at Ms O’Neill’s family home, accompanied by a film crew from the ABC’s Four Corners program, in August 2023. They had planned to throw paint at the house and chain one of the protesters to the front gate, but 10 police officers were lying in wait and swiftly arrested them.

During a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Mr Davey’s lawyer, Anthony Elliott, highlighted the conduct of WA police as he argued for a lesser penalty and a spent conviction for his client.

Mr Davey drove his car past the City Beach home of Woodside chief Meg O’Neill in July 2023, the day before the group’s planned protest, as part of a reconnaissance effort.

The court heard an unmarked car pulled in front of Mr Davey’s vehicle, with two men in plain clothes then jumping out of the car. One of them pulled his gun on Mr Davey.

Mr Elliott said neither officer had any visible accoutrements to suggest they were police officers, and their conduct was an “extraordinary over-reaction … Mr Davey was worried he was about to be robbed or assaulted or both.”

Outside court, Mr Davey said a complaint about the actions of police was in process, and it was “totally out of line” for police to have pulled a gun on him.

“It was an unmarked police car, I didn’t know who was pointing a gun through the windscreen, it’s full-on, it’s had a traumatic effect on me, and it shouldn’t be happening in a country like Australia.”

He also questioned why so many police resources were directed to protecting Ms O’Neill’s home.

“It’s certainly shown where the allegiances of the state and the police lie,” he said.

“This sort of police protection isn’t afforded to victims of domestic violence who are at risk of ­violence. This was to protect them against a bit of paint and some water balloons. It’s totally out of proportion.”

Chief Magistrate Steven Heath said the case raised questions about what were and were not acceptable targets of public protest, given the activists’ decision to directly target the home of an individual employee. “I would have thought this makes this a much more serious form of protest than one that simply targets the corporate headquarters,” he said.

He will hand down penalties for the activists in the coming weeks.

The police prosecutor called for the magistrate to impose a penalty at “the very strong end”, arguing there was a need for both personal deterrence and general deterrence against targeting an individual’s personal residence.

The prosecutor also strongly opposed requests for spent convictions from Mr Davey and Ms Lane-Rose. “The offending is not trivial, it’s planned and co-ordinated, and was committed with the aim of attracting high publicity,” they said. “They are proud of it, they’ve not expressed any remorse, sorrow or apology in relation to it.”

Outside court, both Mr Davey and Ms Lane-Rose were both unapologetic.

Ms Lane-Rose said a climate revolution was “imminent”, while Mr Davey called on others to continue to protest against Woodside and its gas expansion plans.

“I’m not sorry to Ms O’Neill, and if other people want to pursue the CEOs of fossil fuel companies, I think they (the CEOs) should be held accountable,” Mr Davey said.