Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

An incident happened this morning in Perth that should shock every Australian and should certainly shock every member of this place. At 6.45 am, three protesters invaded the private residence of the CEO of a major Western Australian company, Ms Meg O'Neill, supposedly in protest over the activities of that company.

I'd like everyone listening to think about that—invading someone's private home at 6.45 am. I would like every Australian to put themselves in the position of Ms O'Neill, having that activity, that supposed political protest, occurring on her private residence at 6.45 am. That is not political protest in anyone's book; that is about instilling fear. It is about intimidation. It is about terror. We should call these radical activists out for what they are. I certainly hope the full force of the law will be used against them. This is the danger of allowing radical activists to inform government policy; it encourages behaviour like this.

There is another part of the Australian system that was also involved. It was extremely distressing and angering to know there was an ABC film crew, apparently from the Four Corners program, at 6.45 am, filming this intrusion onto private property. Questions need to be asked of the ABC about their role in this protest and the presence of a film crew on a private residence at 6.45 am, supposedly filming protest behaviour. A hundred red flags should have gone up before that film crew went to a private residence to film protest behaviour. The fact they got anywhere near there is an absolute disgrace, and the ABC will have questions to answer at the next round of estimates.

I acknowledge the words of state Labor minister Johnston and federal Labor minister Madeleine King in condemning the behaviour of the protestors and questioning the role of the ABC in this activity. As I say, this is not something that anyone in this place or any Australian could possibly support.