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The rising resistance to Pine Gap

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Nov 3, 2025
Ben Doherty, a senior reporter at Guardian Australia with deep insights into national security, dives into the protests surrounding Pine Gap, a secretive US-Australian signals intelligence base. He explains the protesters' claims that Pine Gap supports military actions in Gaza, stirring up a wave of renewed activism. Doherty discusses the historical opposition from Indigenous groups, the implications of intelligence-sharing arrangements with Israel, and calls for greater transparency about Pine Gap's activities and Australia's role in global conflicts.
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INSIGHT

Secretive Central Listening Station

  • Pine Gap sits in central Australia and operates as a highly secretive joint US-Australian signals intelligence listening station.
  • Public knowledge about its specific operations is limited despite its prominent role in surveillance.
ANECDOTE

Roadside Protests Since October 2023

  • Since October 2023 protesters have blocked the road to Pine Gap citing concerns about intelligence being shared with Israel regarding Gaza.
  • Demonstrators say signals and communications gathered at Pine Gap are passed to the US NSA and then to Israel.
INSIGHT

Satellites Monitor Civilians And Military

  • Pine Gap controls geosynchronous satellites that continuously surveil regions including the Middle East and Gaza.
  • Those satellites capture military and civilian signals, including telephone calls, potentially informing targeted operations.
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