Two protesters have been charged and gas canisters seized after demonstrators targeted Woodside Energy’s annual general meeting.
Police allege the pair intended to commit an act that could have impacted the safety of hundreds of people, but were intercepted before it happened and gas canisters were seized.
Activists staged a demonstration outside the event held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday.
Police allege the arrested duo after they lawfully entered the building but then continued into access areas not open to the public.
The White Gum Valley woman, 34, and Pegs Creeks man, 31, are both facing a charge of aggravated burglary with intent on a place.
A third person was arrested and released pending further investigation.
Activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub says the two people charged attempted to evacuate the building using non-toxic stench gas and smoke flares.
The group opposes construction of a new $6 billion fertiliser plant on Western Australia’s world heritage-nominated Burrup Peninsula near Karratha.
It is owned by multinational petrochemical company Perdaman and will convert natural gas from Woodside’s Scarborough Gas Project into an estimated 2.3 million tonnes of urea per year.
It’s the first industrial construction in more than a decade on the rock art-rich peninsula, which was formally nominated for UNESCO’s world heritage list in February.
Traditional owners oppose the project however the West Australian government supports it, saying it will help guarantee food security, create thousands of jobs and generate more than $77 billion in revenue.
Disrupt Burrup Hub also opposes Woodside’s Brown Basin gas field 900 kilometres off the state’s north west.
-AAP
