As the newest Woodside Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific I am so excited to build upon two years of hugely influential campaigning as we work together with our supporters to #StopsWoodside’sDrill.
440 thousand Greenpeace supporters have raised their concern for Woodside’s diabolical plans in WA, calling for Woodside to leave our precious ocean alone. Woodside’s plans to drill for gas just 2km away from Scott Reef – a biodiverse wonderland off the coast of Broome – would be a disaster for the pristine waters of WA. Which is why we took your petition to Parliament House Canberra and delivered it to the decision makers of this country.
As a WA local I’ve watched a growing groundswell of locals opposing Woodside. And it was great to see them turn out to protest Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill speaking at the Australian Institute of Company directors WA annual award lunch.
After speaking directly with concerned locals in Perth, I jumped on a plane to take the voices of our 440 thousand-strong petition directly to decision makers in Canberra. I packed up all my warmest gear, left my mostly sunny home to join my new teammates and descend on an unsuspecting Canberra!
Local Canberra Artist Lisa Cahill handmade a beautiful glass bottle. The engraved images of the whales, turtles and sea snakes showcased the marine life at risk if Woodside drills for dirty gas at Scott Reef. Inside the bottle we placed a print out of all the names of those who signed the petition to form a “Message in a bottle”. The bottle was the perfect gift for Environment Minister Environment Tanya Plibersek who will decide if Woodside’s Burrup Hub will go ahead.
To really showcase just how many concerned Greenpeace supporters wanted to see Minister Plibersek reject Woodside’s plans, a 47 meter long scroll accompanied us to Canberra. So off we set on our way to our meeting with Plibersek. But there was just one problem. Security at parliament house took one look at our Greenpeace shirts and giant scroll and decided we were trouble makers… not sure where they got that idea from…
After some negotiations we got into the Marble foyer of Parliament House. While all this was happening we were joined by the tenacious Lisa Cahill the artist for our bottle who I think greatly approved of the rabble.
We then took some photos so that you could all see your names on their way through the halls of parliament. Security were nervous, this time bringing in the fabled Black Rod, the officer who maintains order in the upper house of a parliament. In all his majestic wisdom he informed us that we would not be allowed to protest in his nice foyer. We ended up being given a personal escort of about 6 security guards to Tanya Plibersek’s office.
Tanya was of course thrilled to hear from so many concerned individuals. She happily accepted our message in a bottle and was very moved by the 440k names you all submitted in support of Scott Reef. While she didn’t let slip which way the decision was going to go, it was a good sign to see her so enthusiastically taking photos with your names, so we remain hopeful that our message is getting through.
Our security detail continued to follow us, but we think we won them over in the end. One of them even stopped to retie one of our scroll bearers shoes.
The next day was the day we got to meet Kate Chaney, Member for Curtin WA and ACT Senator David Pocock who are concerned about Woodside’s plans, just like you. They held a press conference and presented your petition in both levels of parliament. We heard that David Pocock was called beforehand to confirm that the giant scroll wouldn’t be joining him in the senate chamber. But of course we all know from Morrison’s famous coal incident – props are not permitted in the chambers.
We spent the next few days meeting with MP’s and senators, sharing your names and your message. Woodside’s Burrup Hub is Australia’s largest climate threat, and an unacceptable risk to our oceans and the environment. Word had definitely spread around parliament with many stopping to ask us about the infamous giant scroll.
After a whirlwind first week it’s been an honour to get to be a part of the amazing work that Greenpeace does and I couldn’t be more excited about what’s to come.
Defeating the Burrup Hub would be one of the single most effective things we can do to fight for a safer climate, and a thriving environment. You can help show our Government that Australians want to see Woodside out of our oceans.
