Gerard Mazza, Jesse Noakes and Tahlia Stolarski: Burrup Hub activists fined $10,000 for Woodside AGM stunt

Climate activists who tried to evacuate Woodside’s annual general meeting by setting off a stink bomb and smoke flares have dodged the very real prospect of jail and instead each been fined $10,000. Disrupt Burrup Hub members Jesse Noakes, 36, Gerard Mazza, 33, and Tahlia Stolarksi, 36, were thwarted before they could stage the protest at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in April 2023. Mazza was found with the stink bomb during a search of his belongings after he entered a staff-only area near the stage and falsely claimed he worked for the venue’s IT department. He was not believed and given the “grace” to leave the venue, District Court of WA Judge Craig Astill said on Friday. But he was arrested as he re-entered wearing a jacket and beanie obtained outside from Noakes, whose main role was reconnaissance. Stolarski was found in possession of the flares, which was to be set off outdoors “seemingly to contribute to the confusion that was going on”, Judge Astill said. The trio were initially charged with aggravated burglary with intent, which was downgraded to creating a false belief, then further downgraded to attempting to create a false belief. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment. Judge Astill described the trio as “misguided” and “fanatics” who believed the ends justified the means when it came to pushing their political beliefs, and drowned out other voices in the process. “The law recognised legitimate democratic right to protest but that right is not unfettered,” Judge Astill said. Creating a false emergency with the stench gas — an additive to natural gas that raises alarm in the event of a leak — could have caused panic, the judge said. And with nearly 400 registered shareholders in the venue, that could have led to chaos and someone being hurt, he said. There was “a level of reckless disregard”, Judge Astill said, but found the trio did not intend to harm anyone given actions taken including surveying exits and ventilation during the reconnaissance. The plan “could not be tolerated or endorsed”, he said, giving them 28 days to pay the fines. Supporters in the public gallery could be heard asking how much Woodside had been fined for a spill at one of its projects. Outside court, Mazza said the fine would be covered by supporters in “less than an hour” once a crowd funding campaign went live. In light of “all of life on earth” being at risk, “a $10,000 fine in the context of that, who gives a f..k?”, he added. All three vowed to keep protesting, especially after Environment Minister Murray Watt recently giving Woodside’s North West Shelf extension to 2070 the green light. Noakes said the group would do “whatever it takes, any means necessary”. Stolarski said the Federal Government should be charged with creating a false belief for committing to net zero by 2050. The stunt was among multiple protests by the group targeting the oil and gas giant in 2023, including Stolarski spray painting the Woodside logo six times on the front doors of WA Parliament. Noakes and Mazza were involved in a plot targeting the City Beach home of Woodside boss Meg O’Neill, which was also scuppered by waiting police. Excluding Kristen Morrissey — who forced the evacuation of the company’s Perth headquarters by letting off a stink bomb and is due to be sentenced later this month — the penalties have all been fines.