Pine Gap: Unacceptable at any price

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Senator Jacqui Lambie’s suggestion that Australia should close Pine Gap in response to President Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Australian steel exports to the US, highlights the importance of Australian sovereignty.

However, Senator Lambie’s commendably strong response to the Trump administration’s bullying contains a serious problem.

The threats posed to Australia by Pine Gap, a critical part of US nuclear command and control operations, are multiple and profound. A transactional approach to Pine Gap, however well intentioned, is not appropriate.

Senator Lambie’s positive suggestion inadvertently implies that Australia would accept Alice Springs being a high priority nuclear target, if the price was right. That can never be acceptable.

While IPAN supports the call for Pine Gap to be closed, the reasons are different from Senator Lambie’s.

IPAN’s long standing position is that Pine Gap presents inherent risks to Australia and should be closed for a number of reasons:

• Alice Springs and its residents being a high priority nuclear target.
• US supplied Pine Gap-derived intelligence assists US and Western military operations in wars which also draws Australia into them.
• Pine Gap systems are critical enabling components of nuclear attack planning and operations.
• If the US war went to war with China, Pine Gap would draw Australia in – amplifying the risk of Pine Gap and the residents of Alice Springs being targeted.

Professor Richard TanterIndependent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN)