Climate activist argues forged email cancelling petroleum conference was for ‘satirical purpose’

A Dunedin grandmother allegedly forged a letter to delegates claiming that a petroleum conference had been cancelled.

A jury trial for environmental activist Rosemary Anne Penwarden began in the Dunedin District Court on Monday morning, before Judge Michael Turner.

The 64-year-old faces two forgery-related charges: making a false document and using a false document, with the latter carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail.

Both charges arose out of a postponement letter for the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (Pepanz) conference in September 2019.

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Crown prosecutor Richard Smith told the court that Pepanz was organising a conference at the Millennium Hotel in Queenstown, in late 2019.

The defendant, a week prior to the conference, drafted several typed letters on a laptop and the final draft was put on an official Pepanz letterhead.

That letter, which was marked ‘urgent’, said Pepanz regretted cancelling the conference and apologised for the inconvenience to delegates.

Penwarden later created a Gmail address – named after the conference – from her home in Waitati- north of Dunedin and the letter was emailed to delegates.

Organisers found out early about the email and they were able to notify delegates, Smith said.

The court heard Penwarden later went to Queenstown to protest outside the conference.

A later investigation found the draft letters on her computer and police also found an article of her environmental concerns about the conference posted on a blog.

The letter she sent was a ‘’false document’’, she knew it was false and she intended disruption to that conference by sending that false document, the Crown alleged.

Penwarden’s lawyer, Ben Smith, told the jury that the letter was not sent with intention to deceive, but was sent for a ‘satirical purpose’.

Penwarden made the letter, but when she sent the letter to those in the oil and gas industry: ‘’she didn’t think they were going to up sticks’’.

That letter noted the young people marching in the streets over climate change, he said.

Carolyn Clark, a former Pepanz office and events manager, said about 250 delegates from New Zealand and around the world were to attend the conference.

She told the court that she was informed from an organiser that some delegates had heard the conference had been cancelled, and obtained a copy of the cancellation email.

That letter included the official Pepanz logo, with similar colours, text, and used by the association, she said.

The letter also included the logos of members, Clark said.

The association immediately started an investigation into the forged letter, which was sent to a ‘’fair number’’ of delegates, possibly all 250.

The court heard the conference’s programmes were available on the Internet, and those who attended were deeply involved in the industry.

Other conferences had attracted protests during her three-year tenure, including Wellington and New Plymouth, which included activists protesting outside the venues.

Clark, under questioning from defence counsel Smith, said elements of the Queenstown conference were kept quiet to reduce the risk of protests over concerns with ‘’health and safety’’.

That risk mitigation included booking-out the entire hotel for delegates.

Clark said the letter sent by Penwarden featured poor resolution and it ‘’looks blurry’’.

The trial, which is expected to take three days, continues.