Energy sector denies ‘spying’ claims
An oil and gas giant and a body representing the wider energy resources sector have denied allegations that they used private investigators to monitor climate protesters, including children.
Austrian-owned OMV and Energy Resources Aotearoa have both responded to a two-year investigation by Radio New Zealand (RNZ).
The investigation uncovered evidence the companies had paid private investigation firm Thompson and Clark in 2019 and 2020 to monitor and help counter citizen groups concerned about climate change.
This included a combined Schools Strike 4 Climate (SS4C) and Greenpeace peaceful protest at OMV’s New Plymouth office in December 2019, where Thompson and Clark monitored groups on Facebook and provided information to OMV about their plans, a source told RNZ.
‘‘We do not use Thompson and Clark,’’ an Energy Resources Aotearoa spokesperson said in an emailed statement yesterday.
But the statement did admit they used Thompson and Clark in 2019 ‘‘to protect the safety of people’’ by preventing protesters using fraudulent means to sneak into their conferences.
‘‘Unfortunately, this is necessary because previous petroleum conferences have seen violent and aggressive behaviour by activists,’’ the statement said. ‘‘We are not aware of any illegal ‘surveillance’ or any attempts to ‘thwart’ protest activity by anyone.
‘‘We don’t think monitoring planned protests on public websites and arranging security guards to protect staff and property meets either of these definitions.’’
On OMV’s website a statement was released stating the company respects the rights of people to peacefully protest and has no interest in ‘‘spying’’ on nongovernmental organisations.
‘‘We have never given – nor would we ever give – instructions to target people no matter what age for surveillance,’’ the statement read. ‘‘We use public information that is freely available in order to avoid dangerous situations and to protect our facilities, our staff, and the activists themselves.’’
It states they work within all the rules, regulations and laws, and have liaised with police and other regulatory bodies directly and took advice on how to deal with situations to ensure a peaceful outcome.