Three climate activists accused of targeting a Woodside Energy annual general meeting with stench gas and flares have pleaded guilty to creating a false belief, labelling their exploits a successful hoax.
Gerard Mazza, 32, Jesse Noakes, 35, and Tahlia Stolarksi, 36, had been charged with aggravated burglary with intent after a Disrupt Burrup Hub protest at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in April 2023.
The trio pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday after prosecutors dismissed the burglary allegation.
Activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub previously said anti-Woodside campaigners had attempted to evacuate the building using non-toxic stench gas and smoke flares.
Western Australian Police previously said the activists' actions could have impacted the safety of hundreds of people but they were intercepted before it happened and gas canisters were seized.
Outside court on Thursday, Mazza said the group had pranked Woodside.
"We are guilty of pulling off a successful hoax," he said in a statement.
The trio will return to court on January 17 for a sentencing mention.
They are also scheduled to return to court on November 26 on a charge of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
That charge is related to a protest at the family home of Woodside Energy chief executive Meg O'Neill in August 2023.
The action, which was stopped by counter-terrorism police who had laid in wait for the activists, was harshly criticised, with Premier Roger Cook labelling those involved "extremists" who had attempted to "terrorise" Ms O'Neill.
It comes as a furore erupts over the WA Museum's acquisition of a piece of perspex that saved Frederick McCubbin's painting Down on his Luck from being defaced.
Another Disrupt Burrup Hub activist sprayed a Woodside logo on the plastic, which was protecting the masterpiece, during a protest at the WA Art Gallery.
The Burrup Peninsula, located in WA's Pilbara region and known as Murujuga to traditional owners, contains the world's largest and oldest collection of petroglyphs.
Disrupt Burrup Hub claims Woodside's operations in the area and its proposed expansion form the nation's biggest new fossil fuel project and could produce billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2070.
Woodside said it's working to build a lower carbon business and wants to be part of the conversation about Australia's energy needs and it supports respectful debate on issues such as climate change.
It also said natural gas was an important energy source as the economy transitioned away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
The company's website says the total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the Scarborough development are estimated to be 878 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the project life.
