For those ‘suffering’ from life in a small town, a somewhat secret community within the already ‘hush-hush’ Pine Gap population began to branch out just after 2000, coinciding with the arrival of a new coworker from the United States Army. He and his wife were ‘swingers’, and soon after their arrival, a new club in Alice Springs was born. The Swingers Club found it easy to recruit members, and rumours of wild parties with ‘naked trampolining’ began to circulate. For those who were previously bored with activities on offer in Alice Springs, the boredom meter had ‘swung’ and was now pointing in the opposite direction. People in the club would come and go, and new recruits would always be found, often during the weekend when the alcohol was flowing. It was rumoured the club contributed to at least one Pine Gap couple’s divorce. I wondered whether the Americans were submitting their mandatory Foreign Contact forms to Security for investigation after a particularly wild weekend. Or perhaps protocols weren’t followed—did Security even know about the club?
Sex was certainly a big part of the Alice Springs culture, and I remember that legal escort services had operated in town when I arrived in 1990. Australian government employees weren’t immune to sexual temptation either, with Defence Signals Directorate reported to have ‘been rocked by rumours of sexual misconduct’ in the past,[5] including participation by employees referred to as the ‘royal family’[6]—family members who tend to achieve promotions rapidly within the organisation. It was possible that members of this noble and willing ‘family’ passed through Alice Springs and may have been active participants in the various sexual ‘goings-on’ between consenting adults that had become somewhat widespread in the Alice Springs Swingers Club.
10: PROTESTS AND ALIENS
Pine Gap has been the target of many organised protests by demonstrators who wish to see the facility shut down and permanently closed. Their reasons are many and range from the argument that Pine Gap is a nuclear target to accusations that Pine Gap is responsible for the bombing and killing of innocent civilians. The protests have ranged in size from four individuals who, without authorisation, successfully entered the facility in December 2005[1] to approximately 700 who staged a two-week protest that began on 11 November 1983.[2] I have also seen single protesters in the Alice Springs Todd Mall shopping area, sitting behind a desk surrounded by signs that read ‘Pine Gap kills babies’. Pine Gap protesters have historically used these sensationalist tactics to draw attention to their cause, no matter how inaccurate I know their information to be. I know for a fact that Pine Gap does not kill babies or civilians as Pine Gap isn’t capable of initiating either the launch or activation of any weapons.
Among the many demonstrations held outside the Pine Gap security gates, a protest in 1983 was the largest, reportedly led by Aboriginal women, and comprised mainly of women under the auspices of ‘Women for survival’.[3] This protest was non-violent but many women entered the grounds illegally, resulting in the arrest on 13 November of 111 women,[4] all of whom gave their names as Karen Silkwood, the American labour union activist and anti-nuclear campaigner.[5] That day was the anniversary of Karen Silkwood’s death.
On 1 September 2009, a Remembering Pine Gap exhibition of photos, posters, banners and memorabilia from the archives of the Jessie Street National Women’s Library was held at Parliament House in Sydney to commemorate this protest.[6] I was curious about what these women had to say about Pine Gap twenty-six years later, so attended the opening of the show. I was surprised to hear several misconceptions about Pine Gap promulgated by various speakers as they related their experience from 1983 and their personal feelings about the Base today. As they told how Pine Gap was responsible for killing civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, each speaker referred to Pine Gap by its former name, the Joint Defence Space Research Facility, a name that hadn’t been used since the late 1980s. They stated that the United States Government still does not allow Australians access to the Operations floor and that Australians are not allowed access to all of the information within Operations. As a United States Government employee working within Operations for eighteen years, and now as an Australian citizen, I know this to be patently false.
The perpetual arguments about Pine Gap directing the killing of innocent civilians persist to this day, but it was the erroneous information discussed at the exhibition opening that reinforced my belief that it was the right time to set the record straight on the primary role Pine Gap plays, and has played, in Australian and American defence matters. I didn’t reveal my former association with Pine Gap to anyone at the opening as I didn’t feel my presence would be welcome. Despite this, the exhibition and discussions were interesting and helped those of us in attendance understand the thoughts and motives of those who participated in the protest. As an aspect of Australian women’s history, the event was a success.
Another protest against Pine Gap had occurred in July 1985 when activists on bicycles entered the Alice Springs airport illegally in response to Pine Gap’s alleged support of President Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ missile defence program.[7] The protest involved cyclists riding their bicycles onto the tarmac as a very large Galaxy aircraft prepared to land. The Galaxy provided equipment and material to Pine Gap. With ‘human shields’ blocking the landing strip, the Galaxy was forced to abort its first landing until the cyclists were apprehended. Eventually, the Galaxy landed safely. However, while the aircraft was preparing to unload, a man ran onto the tarmac and sprayed the side of the aircraft with red paint.[8] News and photos of the ‘Galaxy versus bicycles’ battle soon appeared in newspapers around the world. This isn’t exactly what one could expect in a Mission: Impossible movie!
In October 2002, with rumours of an impending war in Iraq being voiced by the Bush administration, a large ‘Expose Pine Gap’ march consisting of more than 500 people, including some politicians, was planned for the weekend of 5 to 7 October.[9] The protest was mostly peaceful, with only a few arrested for minor infractions such as trespassing.
Then for several years all was quiet on the protest front—until, on 9 December 2005, while I was at work inside the secure building, we went into lockdown for several hours as the most serious security breach in Pine Gap’s history took place: four protesters successfully entered through the outer perimeter fence of the facility and several layers of security within the grounds. Two of them proceeded to climb on top of one of the inner buildings, where they took photos and placed anti–Pine Gap leaflets on the roof.[10] Although their actions were slightly malicious and damaged some of the security fence, they were peaceful and certainly didn’t intend to harm anyone inside the facility. But with terrorism a very real threat to America and Australia, they gambled with their lives—the security officers couldn’t have known their exact intentions. But, luckily, all four were soon apprehended and arrested by the cool-headed officers.