Woodside vs The Planet: How a Company Captured a country

Quarterly Essay by Marian Wilkinson: 4 Corners investigative journalist and foreign correspondent SMH

Woodside Energy is Australia’s largest gas exporter.

Harms by Woodside:

• WA’s largest emitter, responsible for Australia’s emissions growing
• Burrup Hub is adjacent to Murujuga Rock Art site, causing damage - reports rejected
• Caused division between indigenous owners
• Destruction of parts of site in 1980s for development of facility
• Huge threats to coral reefs
• Heading for 2.6deg warming by 2100 with current gas extraction plans
• Burrup Hub is huge - too big to fail, so Woodside has secreted itself into Australia’s fabric
• Greatest fear - stranded assets

Woodside has captured WA by:

• Convincing them to approve NWS extension to 2070
• Must have government support - state and commonwealth
• 2024: WA emission reduction legislation - Tallentyne, Labor’s environment minister, tried to get figures to show if gas would impede renewable takeup. No figures forthcoming and legislation shelved
• WA’s Environmental Protection Agency advised against extensions to NWS and it was overruled by McGowan after influence from Woodside and Kerry Stokes’ media outlets. McGowan demanded withdrawal of the guidelines.
• Seven West’s Telethon Ball raises money for charities, but also meeting of business, politicians, media. Charity is supported by Woodside’s CEO Meg O’Neill
• Woodside people bond with Stokes over AFL
• McGowan let Stokes’ gas company export through Karratha
• Coal set to finish in WA by 2030, so more gas needed (they say)
• Resources minister Madeleine King is from WA - supports Woodside
• Soft influence - WA Nippers, concert hall, high school, museums, research funding, regional community development, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute

Woodside has captured Canberra by:

• Convincing everyone gas is a “clean” transition fuel
• Gas is important for helping Asian economies to decarbonise
• We must keep developing new gas fields beyond 2050
• Gas is “good” for supplying baseline power
• Lobbied for Morrison’s “gas-led” recovery from COVID
• Claims the gas industry supports many jobs and pays a lot in taxes
• Insisting on draconian anti-protestor legislation
• Claims what we export should not be included in our emissions output
• Donates to both major parties (Labor $1.1m, LNP $1.3 m since 2014)
• Madeline King's 2024 Future Gas Strategy says we’ll be a ‘reliable’ gas supplier. She’s from WA
• Greatest fear - stranded assets

History

1960s Founders bought NWS exploration permit for £100; formed Woodside in 1976

1979 Gas owned by Commonwealth and a deal was signed for WA government to fund the pipeline to Bunbury and to buy all domestic gas, so there was cashflow to build the export facility.

State Energy Commission was going broke, so it approached the Hawke government, who agreed to contribute more (under Gareth Evans). The Federal government agreed to give up royalties for 20 years & WA used its royalties to prop up SEC.

1980s Karratha processing plant - investors BHP, Shell, BP, Chevron, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, CNOOC.

Japanese have a lot of say still - get plenty of cheap gas that they onsell

2015 IPCC reports - Woodside convinces the world gas is better than coal, and production must be increased.

2021 BHP sells stake in emissions-heavy companies, including Woodside

2023 The process of producing gas uses a lot of gas (more than Australia’s consumption), pushing up WA’s and Australia’s emissions

Now: Woodside is half owner and at high risk - must have new gas supplies to feed the beast

Action steps by GCV

• Call out governments that are working for their sporsors before their electorate
• Point out the real costs of continued fossil fuel dependency, both as consumers and as exporters, in regards to:
  • Increased insurance premiums,
  • Risks of uninsurability
  • Cleanup costs after natural disasters
  • Increased energy prices due to using more expensive soources,
  • etc

Posted by Murray. Last modified: 21 Nov 2025.