The ABC says it didn’t betray anti-Woodside Energy climate activists involved in a Four Corners program by revealing its sources to counter-terrorism police.

October 26, 2023

The ABC has rejected claims it gave up anti-Woodside Energy climate activists by revealing sources to West Australian counter-terrorism police.

The Disrupt Burrup Hub group has accused the broadcaster of breaching media ethics by agreeing to hand over sensitive footage of its operations.

But the ABC says any suggestion it had disclosed or will disclose material in breach of an undertaking to a confidential source was incorrect.

“As ABC managing director David Anderson has previously stated, ‘We don’t reveal our sources, we never have and never will’,” a spokeswoman said on Thursday.

A Four Corners program followed activists in August as they prepared to protest outside the Perth home of Woodside’s chief executive Meg O’Neil.

The action was thwarted by police, who were waiting for the group when it arrived at the property with an ABC camera crew.

Police later demanded the ABC hand over its footage amid accusations by Premier Roger Cook the public broadcaster had encouraged the protesters’ alleged criminal activity.

Disrupt Burrup Hub has since claimed the ABC has “decided to surrender” the material to WA police.

“Compliance with the WA police order would mean the ABC has breached explicit undertakings given to sources,” a spokesman said.

It said Four Corners staff had given guarantees to several activists their identities would be protected before any filming, in a bid to ensure their participation in the program.

The group said the move jeopardised public interest journalism by degrading trust in the taxpayer-funded broadcaster.

The union for Australian journalists has previously said it was alarmed by reports police had demanded the footage.

It said the order was a direct threat to press freedom and the ability of investigative journalists to cover important stories.

The Burrup Peninsula, 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 biggest new fossil fuel project in the country and could produce billion of tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2070.

It has carried out a series of actions against Woodside this year include the release of stench gas at its Perth headquarters in June, forcing the evacuation of about 2000 staff.