Climate change protester causes evacuation of Woodside Energy Headquarters in Perth
Hundreds of employees have been evacuated after a protestor triggered a hoax gas leak at Australia's largest independent oil and gas company. Around a dozen firefighters were called to Woodside Energy Headquarters in at about 10am on Thursday. It came after Disrupt Burrup Hub protestor Kristen Morrisey set off an odourless gas outside the front of the building. Morrissey is captured on film using yellow smoke flares outside the entrance to symbolise the emissions from Woodsides mega gas project. The gas is typically used by mining companies in emergencies. Police arrived on the scene a short time later and took Morrissey away in a police car. No charges have been laid. The protest was the latest of many actions against Woodside due to its plans to prolong and expand gas production on the Burrup Peninsula near Karratha. Last month two protesters were arrested at the Perth Convention Centre after they tried to disrupt a Woodside AGM using stench gas. While two weeks ago high-profile activist Deanna 'Violet' CoCo was fined $200 and told to pay $500 in damages after she spray-painted four yellow Woodside Energy logos on Perth Police Station and then tried to glue herself to the window. Disrupt Burrup Hub protesters believe Woodside's presence in the Burrup region threatens both the Indigenous culture in the area and the environment. The Burrup Peninsula, 850km southwest of Broome, is home to one of Australia's biggest collections of Indigenous rock art. Woodside's $50 billion Burrup Hub project involves the development of two new gas fields, Scarborough and Browse, and the expansion of two existing gas fields in Perth's northwest. Woodside Energy is Australia's largest independent oil and gas company, worth $68billion, and ranks in Australia's top ten companies and among the 1500 biggest public companies in the world.