Kristen Alice Morrissey: Anti-gas protester who forced Woodside’s Perth headquarters evacuation admits guilt

A protester who forced the evacuation of Woodside’s Perth headquarters has pleaded guilty to charges against her and defiantly promised to keep up her anti-fossil fuels activism. Kristen Alice Morrissey, 50, caused massive disruption on June 1 last year when she let off the non-toxic ‘stench gas’ at the CBD building. An estimated 2000 workers had to leave the building and the broader area outside was cordoned off for hours, requiring traffic detours. Morrissey pleaded guilty in Perth Magistrates Court on Monday to causing “poison to be administered” in a bid to annoy and creating a false belief — that emergency services needed to respond to the situation to protect people and property. The court was told she used ethyl mercaptan, which is described as having a strong, skunk-like smell and is added to odourless gases so leakages can be detected. A supporter quietly applauded in the public gallery after she entered the pleas. Outside court, Morrissey said she was standing on principle. “I’m standing for what’s right, I’m standing for future generations and I’m standing against the powers that control our State, that control our country,” she told The West Australian. “Watch this space.” Morrissey will next face court for a sentence mention on January 31.