‘What’s the obsession?‘: Cook denounces ‘extremist’ Woodside protest

afr.com:

Western Australian Premier Roger Cook has denounced “extremist” protesters who descended on the home of Woodside chief Meg O’Neill and mounted a spirited defence of the natural gas industry, which he said was essential to the state’s energy transition.

A day after three people were arrested at the Perth beachside family home of Ms O’Neill, Mr Cook said he was appalled by their actions, and vowed to seek answers from the ABC as to how one of its camera crews became involved in filming the protest.

Premier Roger Cook has denounced a protest at the Perth home of Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill. Trevor Collens

Mr Cook said the protesters were extremists who had sought to terrorise Ms O’Neill and her family in their home, and questioned why Woodside was attracting such attention from climate protesters.

“What is it about people’s obsession with Woodside,” he said, describing the oil and gas giant as a great company that underpinned the standard of living in WA.

“The suggestion that we should just somehow switch off the tap to gas as some sort of utopian exercise of moving to a green energy future is just, quite frankly, rubbish.”

Mr Cook said he would be contacting ABC management as to the national broadcaster’s involvement in filming the incident.

“What we do know is that a film crew from the ABC were present during this event, they clearly had prior notice and understood that these people were going to the CEO’s house, her personal home, to take this action,” Mr Cook said.

Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill. Trevor Collens

“I’ll be seeking answers from the ABC today, I’ll be contacting senior management to understand what it is that they knew, and why they didn’t take action to inform police before this activity took