Up to 100 people rallied outside the US Consulate in North Sydney on July 19 demand that the Pine Gap spy base be closed down.
The protest, organised by Stop the War on Palestine (SWOP), was called in solidarity with the Close Pine Gap, Sacred Land Back Convergence 2026 at Mparntwe/Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
Denis Doherty, from the Sydney Anti-Bases Campaign, told the protest that the base is a nuclear war-fighting base. “Pine Gap is one of around 50 US bases in Australia and the biggest by far. It is not really a joint facility with Australia; it is completely dominated by US forces.” He said not only should Pine Gap be closed but that all ties be cut with the with the US and Israel over their genocide in Palestine.
Zach Schofield, a participant in the recent Sumud Flotilla for Palestine, said Pine Gap is “one of the most visible signs of US domination of Australia”. He called for peace and international collaboration, not war and domination.
A speaker from Teachers for Palestine said the US is preparing for a war on China and that needs to be stopped.
Keiran told the protest by phone from the camp that around 700 people have travelled from all over the country to Alice Springs for the convergence. “The Aboriginal Traditional Owners here have strongly supported our stand,” adding that the workshops have been “excellent”, including one discussing the need for the union movement to run a campaign to end Pine Gap base.
James Supple, representing SWOP, said: “Pine Gap is Exhibit A and proves that Australia is fully complicit in the US-Israeli war on Gaza and Palestine, and the war against Iran. Australia’s increased war spending, including on nuclear submarines, should instead be put into social welfare, the NDIS, housing and other vital needs.
[For more information visit www.stopthewaronpalestine.info.]