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{{short description|Joint Australian and United States military satellite ground station near Alice Springs, Australia}}
{{About|the joint intelligence base|the TV series|Pine Gap (TV series)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| name        = Pine Gap
| type        = other
| state       = au
| image       = Pine Gap by Skyring.jpg
| coordinates = {{coord|23|48|00|S|133|44|15|E|type:landmark_region:AU-NT|display=inline,title}}
| relief      = yes
}}
{{Global surveillance}}
'''Pine Gap''' is a joint Australian–United States satellite communications and [[signals intelligence]] surveillance base and [[Earth stations in Australia|Australian Earth station]] approximately {{cvt|18|km|mi}} south-west of the town of [[Alice Springs]]. It is jointly operated by Australia and the United States, and since 1988 it has been officially called the '''Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap''' ('''JDFPG'''); previously, it was known as '''Joint Defence Space Research Facility'''.<ref name="defencemagazine">{{cite journal |last=Hamlin |first=Karen |year=2007 |title=Pine Gap celebrates 40 years |periodical=Defence Magazine |volume=2007/8 |issue=3 |pages=28–31 |url=http://www.defence.gov.au/defencemagazine/editions/200708_03/ |issn=1446-229X |access-date=30 December 2010 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821165909/http://www.defence.gov.au/defencemagazine/editions/200708_03/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It plays a crucial role in supporting the intelligence activities and military operations of the US around the world.<ref name="abc190817">{{cite web |last1=Cronau |first1=Peter |title=Leaked documents reveal Pine Gap's role in the US fighting machine |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-20/leaked-documents-reveal-pine-gaps-crucial-role-in-us-drone-war/8815472 |website=ABC News |access-date=5 November 2023 |language=en-AU |date=19 August 2017}}</ref>  The base's role has caused much controversy in Australia, leading to various protests.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Commons Librarian |date=2023-12-22 |title=Campaigns that Changed South Australia |url=https://commonslibrary.org/campaigns-that-changed-south-australia/ |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>

The station is jointly run by the [[Australian Defence Force]] ([[Australian Signals Directorate]]), the US [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA), US [[National Security Agency]] (NSA), and US [[National Reconnaissance Office]] (NRO) and is a key contributor to the NSA's global interception/surveillance effort, which included the [[ECHELON]] program.<ref name="PineGap">{{cite news|last1=Leslie|first1=Tim|last2=Corcoran|first2=Mark|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-08/australian-nsa-involvement-explained/5079786|title=Explained: Australia's involvement with the NSA, the US spy agency at heart of global scandal|publisher=ABC|date=19 November 2013|access-date=24 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dorling |first=Philip |title=Australian outback station at forefront of US spying arsenal |url=https://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/security-it/australian-outback-station-at-forefront-of-us-spying-arsenal-20130726-hv10h.html |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=30 January 2014 |date=26 July 2013 |archive-date=28 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928162246/https://www.smh.com.au/technology/australian-outback-station-at-forefront-of-us-spying-arsenal-20130720-hv10h.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Loxley |first=Adam |title=The Teleios Ring |year=2011 |publisher=Matador |location=Leicester |isbn=978-1848769205 |page=296}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Routledge Companion to Intelligence Studies |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134480296 |page=164 |editor=Robert Dover |editor2=Michael S. Goodman |editor3=Claudia Hillebrand}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mission Ground Station Declassification (NRO) |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/NRO_FOIA_request.pdf |work=15 October 2008 |publisher=National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) |access-date=28 March 2014 |archive-date=18 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140618182720/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/NRO_FOIA_request.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The classified NRO name for the Pine Gap base is Australian Mission Ground Station (AMGS), while the unclassified cover term for the NSA function of the facility is RAINFALL.<ref name="ABC/intercept2017">Peter Cronau, [https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/the-base-pine-gaps-role-in-us-warfighting/8813604/ The Base: Pine Gap's Role in US Warfighting] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718112953/https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/the-base-pine-gaps-role-in-us-warfighting/8813604 |date=18 July 2022 }}, ''Background Briefing'', ABC Radio National, 20 August 2017; Ryan Gallagher and Peter Cronau, [https://theintercept.com/2017/08/19/nsa-spy-hub-cia-pine-gap-australia/ The U.S. Spy Hub in the Heart of Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823104430/https://theintercept.com/2017/08/19/nsa-spy-hub-cia-pine-gap-australia/ |date=23 August 2022 }}, ''The Intercept'', 20 August 2017.</ref>

==Base==
[[File:PineGap-sign.jpg|thumb|right|Warning sign on the road to Pine Gap]]

The facilities at the base consist of a massive computer complex with 38 [[radome]]s protecting radio dishes<ref name="ewbp">{{cite book |title=Ending War, Building Peace |last=Middleton |first=Hannah |editor1-first=Lynda-ann |editor1-last=Blanchard |editor2-first=Leah |editor2-last=Chan |chapter=The Campaign against US military bases in Australia |year=2009 |publisher=Sydney University Press |isbn=978-1920899431 |pages=125–126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfevcY8rtwMC |access-date=2 November 2012 |archive-date=14 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414125639/https://books.google.com/books?id=jfevcY8rtwMC |url-status=live }}</ref> and operates with over 800 employees.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/national/pine-gap-drives-us-drone-kills-20130720-2qbsa.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722125755/http://www.theage.com.au/national/pine-gap-drives-us-drone-kills-20130720-2qbsa.html|date=22 July 2013}}, 21 July 2013. Accessed 21 July 2013</ref> Former NSA employee David Rosenberg<ref>{{Citation |title=Channel 10 - Pine Gap secrets |date=Jun 27, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqbQ8cXRxPM |access-date=2024-03-08 |language=en}}</ref> indicated that the chief of the facility was a senior CIA officer at the time of his service there.<ref name="rosenberg">{{cite book |title=Inside Pine Gap: The Spy who Came in from the Desert |last=Rosenberg |first=David |year=2011 |publisher=Hardie Grant Books |location=Prahran, Victoria |isbn=9781742701738}}</ref>{{rp|p 45–46}}<ref>Harris, Reg ''Legendary Territorians'', Harris Nominees, Alice Springs, 2007, p 93, {{ISBN|9780646483719}}.</ref>

Australian personnel stationed at the installation have access to the entire facility (depending on role and clearance). However, all Australian personnel are banned from entering the [[NSA]]'s cryptology room. Similarly, all US Personnel are banned from the [[Australian Signals Directorate]]'s cryptology room.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The location is strategically significant because it controls United States spy satellites as they pass over one-third of the globe, including China, North Korea, the Asian parts of Russia, and the Middle East.<ref name="ewbp"/> Central Australia was chosen because it was too remote for [[spy ship]]s passing in international waters to intercept its signals.<ref name="rosenberg"/>{{rp|p xxi}} The facility has become a key part of the local economy.<ref name="ausgeorc">{{cite book |title=The Australian Geographic Book of the Red Centre |last=Stanton |first=Jenny |year=2000 |publisher=[[Australian Geographic]] |location=Terrey Hills, New South Wales |isbn=1-86276-013-6 |page=57}}</ref>

=== Military activities ===
Pine Gap's activities have become more military-focused over time. One of its roles is to detect and geolocate the source of electronic signals, such as those emitted by [[mobile phones]]. This information is used by [[Five Eyes]] to identify and geolocate targets of interest, which it can then attack using special forces or lethal unmanned drones, for example.<ref name="abc190817" />

Since it was established, Pine Gap has assisted the US in planning for [[nuclear war]].<ref name="conv091216">{{cite web |last1=Tanter |first1=Richard |date=9 December 2016 |title=Fifty years on, Pine Gap should reform to better serve Australia |url=https://theconversation.com/fifty-years-on-pine-gap-should-reform-to-better-serve-australia-65650 |access-date=10 November 2023 |website=The Conversation}}</ref>

Leaked Department of Defence documents revealed that satellites controlled by the Pine Gap and [[Joint Defense Facility Nurrungar|Joint Defence Facility Nurrungar]] facilities were used during the [[Vietnam War]] to pinpoint targets for [[Operation Menu|bombings in Cambodia]].<ref>Pilger 1992, p. 202.</ref>

[[Joint Defence Facility Nurrungar]] relayed warnings of [[Scud missile]] launches to the [[Israel Defence Forces]] (IDF) during the [[Gulf War]] in the early 1990s. By 2003, this function had been fully transferred to Pine Gap.<ref name="smh300902">{{cite web |date=30 September 2002 |title=Pine Gap gears for war with eye on Iraq |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/pine-gap-gears-for-war-with-eye-on-iraq-20020930-gdfohm.html |access-date=7 November 2023 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref name="dc031123">{{cite web |last1=Cronau |first1=Peter |date=3 November 2023 |title=Targetting Palestine |url=https://declassifiedaus.org/2023/11/03/targeting-palestine/ |access-date=7 November 2023 |website=Declassified Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref>

Location data provided by Pine Gap was used by the US to kill [[al-Qaeda]] and the [[Taliban]] soldiers with drones. US drones have also killed hundreds of civilians.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dorling |first1=Philip |date=20 July 2013 |title=Pine Gap drives US drone kills |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/pine-gap-drives-us-drone-kills-20130720-2qbsa.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901071244/http://www.smh.com.au/national/pine-gap-drives-us-drone-kills-20130720-2qbsa.html |archive-date=1 September 2022 |access-date=7 November 2023 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wood |first1=Richard |date=12 October 2019 |title=The story behind Pine Gap spy base |url=https://www.9news.com.au/national/pine-gap-spy-base-new-book-examines-alice-springs-intelligence-centre-australia-news/25881726-898c-4dbf-b6e2-44e4880b373e |access-date=10 November 2023 |website=www.9news.com.au}}</ref>

During the [[Gaza war]], it is alleged Pine Gap provided the IDF with communications and electronic intelligence, which it had collected using two [[Geosynchronous satellite|geosynchronous]] [[Orion (satellite)|Orion satellites]] located over the Indian Ocean.<ref name="dc031123" />

==Operational history==
In late 1966, during the [[Cold War]], a joint US–Australian treaty called for the creation of a US satellite surveillance base in Australia, to be titled the "Joint Defence Space Research Facility".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.info.dfat.gov.au/info/Treaties/Treaties.nsf/AllDocIDs/675B157B757190FDCA256B59007D0CF3 |title=Treaties |website=www.info.dfat.gov.au |access-date=25 November 2017 |archive-date=10 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110040607/https://www.info.dfat.gov.au/info/Treaties/Treaties.nsf/AllDocIDs/675B157B757190FDCA256B59007D0CF3 |url-status=live }}</ref> The purpose of the facility was initially referred to in public as "space research".<ref name="NYT1">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/world/australia/pine-gap-spy-base-protests.html |title=An American Spy Base Hidden in Australia's Outback |first=Jackie |last=Dent |newspaper=The New York Times |date=23 November 2017 |access-date=25 November 2017 |archive-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023104628/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/world/australia/pine-gap-spy-base-protests.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It was officially referred to as a "joint space research facility" until 1988.<ref name="abc230424">{{cite news |last1=Barwick |first1=Alex |title=When the US put Australia on nuclear red alert, no-one told the prime minister |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-24/when-australia-was-put-on-nuclear-alert-expanse-podcast/103733194 |access-date=24 April 2024 |work=ABC News |date=23 April 2024 |language=en-AU}}</ref> The Pine Gap treaty was signed on 9 December 1966 and stated that, after an initial nine years, either Australia or the US could cancel the agreement on giving one year's notice.<ref name="coxsedge">{{cite book |last1=Coxsedge |first1=Joan |title=Nugan Hand: A Tale of Drugs, Dirty Money, the CIA and the Ousting of the Whitlam Government : an "unbank" and Its CIA Connections|author-link=Joan Coxsedge |date=2017 |publisher=Communist Party of Australia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dT91tAEACAAJ |access-date=11 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

Operations started in 1970 when about 400 American families moved to [[Central Australia]].<ref name="ausgeorc" /> The function of the base when it first opened was to monitor military activities such as missile tests in Russia, China, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, and India..<ref name="intercept190817">{{cite web |last1=Gallagher |first1=Ryan |title=The U.S. Spy Hub in the Heart of Australia |url=https://theintercept.com/2017/08/19/nsa-spy-hub-cia-pine-gap-australia/ |website=The Intercept |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823104430/https://theintercept.com/2017/08/19/nsa-spy-hub-cia-pine-gap-australia/ |archive-date=23 August 2022 |date=19 August 2017}}</ref>

The base was placed on nuclear alert by the [[US Government]] during the [[Yom Kippur War]] in 1973 when [[United States Secretary of State|US secretary of state]] [[Henry Kissinger]] issued a [[DEFCON#DEFCON_3|DEFCON 3]] force-wide alert. Australian personnel at the base, the [[Australian Government]] and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam were not informed of the alert.<ref name="abc230424"/>

Since the end of the Cold War in 1991 and the rise of the [[war on terror]] in 2001, the base has seen a refocusing from mere nuclear treaty monitoring and missile launch detection, to become a vital warfighting base for US military forces.<ref name="ABC/intercept2017" /> In 1999, with the Australian Government refusing to give details to an [[Australian Senate]] committee about the relevant treaties, intelligence expert Professor [[Des Ball]] from the [[Australian National University]] was called to give an outline of Pine Gap. According to Ball, since 9 December 1966 when the Australian and United States governments signed the Pine Gap treaty, Pine Gap had grown from the original two antennas to about 18 in 1999, and 38 by 2017.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ball |first=Desmond |date=28 May 2015 |title=Expanded Communications Satellite Surveillance and Intelligence Activities utilising Multi-beam Antenna Systems |url=https://nautilus.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Torus-SATCOM.pdf |journal=The Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability |pages=29 |access-date=28 September 2022 |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427131346/http://nautilus.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Torus-SATCOM.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The number of staff had increased from around 400 in the early 1980s to 600 in the early 1990s and then to 800 in 2017, the biggest expansion since the end of the Cold War.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

Ball described the facility as the ground control and processing station for geosynchronous satellites engaged in [[SIGINT|signals intelligence]] collection, outlining four categories of signals collected:

*[[telemetry]] from advanced weapons development, such as [[ballistic missile]]s, used for [[arms control]] verification;
*signals from [[missile defense|anti-missile]] and [[anti-aircraft]] radars;
*transmissions intended for [[communications satellite]]s; and
*[[microwave]] emissions, such as long-distance [[telephone]] calls.

Ball described the operational area as containing three sections: Satellite Station Keeping Section, Signals Processing Station and the Signals Analysis Section, from which Australians were barred until 1980. Each morning the Joint Reconnaissance Schedule Committee meets to determine what the satellites will monitor over the next 24 hours.

With the closing of Nurrungar in 1999, an area in Pine Gap was set aside for the [[United States Air Force]]'s control station for [[Defense Support Program]] satellites that monitor heat emissions from missiles, giving first warning of ballistic missile launches. In 2004, the base began operating a new satellite system known as the [[Space-Based Infrared System]], which is a vital element of US missile defence.<ref name="ewbp" />

Since the end of the Cold War, the station has mainly been employed to intercept and record weapons and communications signals from countries in Asia, such as China and North Korea. The station was active in supporting the wars in [[Yugoslav Wars|Yugoslavia]], [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq War|Iraq]] and every US war since the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref>Coopes, Amy, [[Agence France-Presse]]/[[Jiji Press]], "[http://ca.news.yahoo.com/us-eyes-asia-secret-australian-042145710.html US eyes Asia from secret Australian base]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}", [[Yahoo! News]], 19 September 2011</ref><ref>''[[Japan Times]]'', 19 September 2011, p. 1.</ref>

The [[RAF Menwith Hill|Menwith Hill Station]] (MHS) in the UK is operated by the NSA and also serves as ground station for these satellite missions.<ref name="ABC/intercept2017" />

One of Pine Gap's primary functions is to locate radio signals in the [[Eastern Hemisphere]], with the collected information fed into the US drone program.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dorling |first=Philip |title=Pine Gap drives US drone kills |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/pine-gap-drives-us-drone-kills-20130720-2qbsa.html |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=30 January 2014 |date=21 July 2013 |archive-date=5 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105050530/http://www.smh.com.au/national/pine-gap-drives-us-drone-kills-20130720-2qbsa.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Oliver Laughland |title=Pine Gap's role in US drone strikes should be investigated – rights groups |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/19/pine-gap-drone-strikes-investigation-call |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=21 December 2013 |archive-date=10 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910205650/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/19/pine-gap-drone-strikes-investigation-call |url-status=live }}</ref> This was confirmed by an NSA document from 2013, which says that Pine Gap plays a key role in providing [[geolocation]] data for intelligence purposes, as well as for military operations, including air strikes.<ref name="ABC/intercept2017" />

On 11 July 2013, documents revealed through former NSA analyst [[Edward Snowden]] showed that Pine Gap, amongst three other locations in Australia and one in New Zealand, contributed to the NSA's global interception and collection of internet and telephone communications, which involves systems like [[XKEYSCORE]].<ref name="ABC/intercept2017" /> Journalist Brian Toohey states that Pine Gap intercepts electronic communications from Australian citizens including phone calls, emails and faxes as a consequence of the technology it uses.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Snow |first1=Deborah |title=Tantalising secrets of Australia's intelligence world revealed |url=https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/tantalising-secrets-of-australia-s-intelligence-world-revealed-20190826-p52ku9.html |access-date=1 October 2019 |work=The Age |date=31 August 2019 |archive-date=1 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001133423/https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/tantalising-secrets-of-australia-s-intelligence-world-revealed-20190826-p52ku9.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to documents published in August 2017, Pine Gap is used as a ground station for spy satellites on two secret missions:<ref name="ABC/intercept2017" />
*Mission 7600 with 2 geosynchronous satellites to cover Eurasia and Africa
*Mission 8300 with 4 geosynchronous satellites that covered the former Soviet Union, China, South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and countries on the Atlantic Ocean
After the inexplicable March 2014 disappearance of [[Malaysia Airlines Flight 370|Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370]], a [[Boeing 777-200ER|Boeing 777]] passenger jet, authorities suggested that Pine Gap or [[Jindalee Operational Radar Network|Jindalee (JORN)]] radar site might have data to help locate the missing aircraft.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-03-19 |title=Australian bases could be withholding MH370 data - 9News |url=https://www.9news.com.au/world/australian-bases-could-be-withholding-mh370-data/d43b392f-a08b-47c2-bc21-62dba9f11f1e |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=www.9news.com.au |quote=Canberra is reportedly unwilling to disclose whether its RAAF radar was tracking the Boeing 777 as it flew. The over-the-horizon radar is capable of tracking flights as far away as 3000km from Pine Gap, enough to track the aircraft as it flew across the South China Sea… Australian Defence Department said it would not be providing comment on the surveillance system… Pine Gap's primary function is to control US spy satellites, but no information from the base has been shared with the Malaysian government.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Murdoch |first=Lindsay |date=2014-03-19 |title=Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: plea to US to release Pine Gap data |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/missing-malaysia-airlines-plane-plea-to-us-to-release-pine-gap-data-20140319-hvkf2.html |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |quote=Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia believes data from US spy satellites monitored in Australia could help find missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 but the information is being withheld. The country's Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has specifically asked the US to share information obtained from the Pine Gap base near Alice Springs, according to the government-controlled New Straits Times newspaper.}}</ref>

==Whitlam dismissal==
{{main|Alleged CIA involvement in the Whitlam dismissal}}

[[Gough Whitlam]], [[Prime Minister of Australia]] (between 1972 and 1975), considered closing the base.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Pilger |first=John |date=23 October 2014 |title=The British-American coup that ended Australian independence |url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-whitlam-1975-coup-ended-australian-independence |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927051139/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-whitlam-1975-coup-ended-australian-independence |archive-date=27 September 2022 |access-date=28 January 2021 |website=The Guardian |language=en }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Zhou |first=Naaman |date=14 July 2020 |title=Gough Whitlam dismissal: What we know so far about the palace letters and Australian PM's sacking |url=http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/14/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-palace-letters-and-the-dismissal-of-australian-prime-miister-ough-whitlams-dism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918094344/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/14/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-palace-letters-and-the-dismissal-of-australian-prime-miister-ough-whitlams-dism |archive-date=18 September 2022 |access-date=28 January 2021 |website=The Guardian |language=en }}</ref> [[Victor Marchetti]], a former CIA officer who had helped set up the facility, said that this consideration "caused apoplexy in the White House, [and] a kind of [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|Chile [coup]]] was set in motion", with the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and [[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]] working together to get rid of the Prime Minister.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> On 11 November 1975, the day Whitlam was scheduled to brief the [[Parliament of Australia|Australian Parliament]] on the secret CIA presence in Australia, as well as it being "the last day of action if an election of any kind was to be held before Christmas", he was dismissed from office as he was unable to guarantee supply (money required for the functions of the government) by the [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]] [[John Kerr (governor-general)|John Kerr]], using reserve powers, described as "archaic" by critics of the decision.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> 

In 2020, previously confidential private correspondences between the Palace and the Governor-General were released. In one of the letters, John Kerr describes his alleged CIA connections as "Nonsense of course", and assured the Queen of his continued loyalty.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 July 2020 |title='Don't ever write and preach to me again': One missive in the Palace letters broke all the rules |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-19/palace-letters-here-are-the-letters-you-might-have-missed/12465294 |access-date=22 May 2021 |website=www.abc.net.au |language=en-AU |archive-date=21 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721060450/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-19/palace-letters-here-are-the-letters-you-might-have-missed/12465294 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nonetheless, according to revelations from CIA whistleblower [[Christopher John Boyce]], Kerr allegedly maintained ties with CIA-funded organizations and was referred to as 'our man Kerr' by the agency.<ref name="Spy's Story">{{cite web |author=Ray |first=Martin |author-link=Ray Martin (television presenter) |date=May 23, 1982 |title=A Spy's Story: USA Traitor Gaoled For 40 Years After Selling Codes of Rylite and Argus Projects |url=http://williambowles.info/spysrus/cia_australia.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724113116/http://williambowles.info/spysrus/cia_australia.html |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |access-date=October 15, 2012 |work=[[60 Minutes (Australian TV program)|60 Minutes]]}}</ref>

==Allegations of Christopher Boyce==
During his trial for espionage, US defence industry employee [[Christopher Boyce]] made a number of allegations related to the intelligence gathered at Pine Gap (including claiming that [[Alleged CIA involvement in the Whitlam dismissal|the CIA was involved in the Whitlam Dismissal]]). He stated that, despite the US agreeing to share intelligence from Pine Gap with Australia, he was told that the US did and would withhold some information from the Australians. Boyce also said that Pine Gap was monitoring telephone calls and [[telex]] messages to and from Australia of a political nature.<ref>Pilger 1992, p. 213-214.</ref>

==Protests==
[[File:Protest at the gates of Pine Gap.jpg|thumb|left|middle|A protest against the [[Iraq War]] held at Pine Gap in 2002]]

*On 11 November 1983, Aboriginal women led 700 women to the Pine Gap gates where they fell silent for 11 minutes to commemorate [[Remembrance Day]] and the [[Greenham Common]] protest in Britain. This was the beginning of a two-week, women-only peace camp, organised under the auspices of "Women For Survival".<ref>{{Cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Iain |date=2023-12-11 |title=Movement Moments: Telling Australian Stories (Videos) |url=https://commonslibrary.org/movement-moments-telling-australian-stories-videos/ |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>  The gathering was nonviolent but several women trespassed onto the military base. 111<ref>Pine Gap Protests - historical http://nautilus.org/publications/books/australian-forces-abroad/defence-facilities/pine-gap/pine-gap-protests/protests-hist/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203004202/http://nautilus.org/publications/books/australian-forces-abroad/defence-facilities/pine-gap/pine-gap-protests/protests-hist/ |date=3 December 2019 }} and Kelham, Megg Waltz in P-Flat: The Pine Gap Women's Peace Protest in Hecate 1 January 2010 available on-line at http://www.readperiodicals.com/201001/2224850971.html#b {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423131338/http://www.readperiodicals.com/201001/2224850971.html#b |date=23 April 2016 }}</ref> women were arrested on one particular day and gave their names as [[Karen Silkwood]], an American nuclear worker who died after campaigning for nuclear safety. There were allegations of [[police brutality]] and an [[Australian Human Rights Commission]] inquiry ensued.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.library.uq.edu.au/fryer/worth_fighting/5.html |title=The Anti-Nuclear Campaign |website=uq.edu.au |access-date=25 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907181211/http://www.library.uq.edu.au/fryer/worth_fighting/5.html |archive-date=7 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*On 5–7 October 2002, a number of groups (including [[Quakers]] and the [[National Union of Students (Australia)|National Union of Students]]) gathered at the gates of Pine Gap to protest the use of the base in the then-impending Iraq war.<ref>{{cite web |date=2002 |url=http://www.anti-bases.org/pine_gap_Sept_2002_protest/protest_news.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831000357/http://www.anti-bases.org/pine_gap_Sept_2002_protest/protest_news.htm |archive-date=31 August 2007 |title=AABCC Pine Gap Protest Sept 2002 report |publisher=Australian Anti Bases Coalition}}</ref>
*In December 2005, six members of the [[Christians Against All Terrorism]] group staged a protest outside Pine Gap. Four of them later broke into the facility and were arrested. Their trial began on 3 October 2006 and was the first time that Australia's Defense (Special Undertakings) Act 1952 was used.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Christian Pacifists Challenge Pine Gap In Court |url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0610/S00120.htm |access-date=24 February 2007 |date=6 October 2006 |publisher=Scoop.co.nz |author1=Donna Mulhearn |author2=Jessica Morrison |name-list-style=amp |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119092042/http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0610/S00120.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Pine Gap Four [[cross-appeal]]ed to have their convictions quashed. In February 2008, the four members successfully appealed their convictions and were acquitted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nt/NTCCA/2008/4.html |title=The Queen v Law & Ors [2008] NTCCA 4 (19 March 2008) |website=www.austlii.edu.au |access-date=25 November 2017 |archive-date=16 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616011806/http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nt/NTCCA/2008/4.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*On 28 September 2016, a group of five people calling themselves “Peace Pilgrims” entered the prohibited zone around Pine Gap and were arrested and tried for trespass.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Brian |date=2024-02-20 |title=Prophetic Witness Against the War Machine [The Peace Pilgrims and Pine Gap] |url=https://commonslibrary.org/prophetic-witness-against-the-war-machine-the-peace-pilgrims-and-pine-gap/ |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>
*On 20 October 2023, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked Hatt Road, the entryway to Pine Gap, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gardiner |first=Stephanie |date=20 October 2023 |title=Pro-Palestine activists block entry to Pine Gap base |url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8394144/pro-palestine-activists-block-entry-to-pine-gap-base/ |access-date=30 October 2023 |website=The Canberra Times |language=en-AU}}</ref> Protesters blockaded Hatt Road, the main access road to Pine Gap in late November 2023 due to concerns that information collected at the facility was being passed to the IDF and being used to identify targets within Gaza during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why do protests keep happening at the top-secret Pine Gap military base? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-27/pine-gap-military-base-nt-why-are-protests-happening/103153696 |access-date=5 December 2023 |work=ABC News |date=27 November 2023 |language=en-AU}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
Peter "Turbo" Teatoff is seen delivering heavy machinery to JDFPG in season 4's 11th episode of series ''[[Outback Truckers]]''.

Pine Gap features prominently in the third and fourth [[thriller novel|thriller novels]] of the ''Jack West Jr.'' series—''[[The Five Greatest Warriors]]'' and ''[[The Four Legendary Kingdoms]]'', respectively—by the Australian writer [[Matthew Reilly]].

Pine Gap is featured in the 2018 Australian television series [[Pine Gap (TV series)|of the same name]]. The series is a [[political thriller]], portraying the lives of the members of the joint American–Australian intelligence team.

In the novel, ''[[The Secret History of Twin Peaks]]'' by [[Mark Frost]], President [[Richard Nixon]] claims that Pine Gap is actually the site of an underground facility constructed by [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrials]].

In 1982 the Australian band Midnight Oil released "[[Power and the Passion (song)|Power and the Passion]]", which contains a reference to Pine Gap.

On 6 March 2024, Australian YouTubers [[Aleksa Vulović]], [[Alex Apollonov]] and [[Jordan Shanks]] uploaded a video to Vulović's channel Boy Boy, in which the trio attempted to enter Pine Gap. The trio were briefly detained and questioned after being denied entry at the front gate. The trio also kicked a soccer ball over the security fence and then asked to retrieve it as a prank. The next day, upon arrival at [[Sydney Airport]], the trio were further questioned by the [[Australian Federal Police]] immediately after leaving the aircraft. The video featured an interview with Donna Mulhearn, one of the six members of the Christians Against All Terrorism group who [[Pine Gap#Protests|attempted to sneak into Pine Gap in 2006]], along with the discussion of the alleged CIA involvement in the Whitlam dismissal.<ref>{{Citation |title=We Snuck Into a CIA Base In The Aussie Outback |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHMa-Ba-2Mo |access-date=2024-03-09 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Five Eyes]] alliance
* [[Joint Geological and Geophysical Research Station]]
* [[GCSB Waihopai]]
* [[RAF Menwith Hill]]
* [[Misawa Air Base]]

==References==
* {{cite book |last1=Ball |first1=Desmond |title=A Suitable Piece of Real Estate: American Installations in Australia |author-link=Desmond Ball|date=1980 |publisher=Hale & Iremonger |isbn=978-0-908094-47-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3cUiAAAAMAAJ|access-date=10 November 2023 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gilling |first1=Tom |title=Project RAINFALL: The secret history of Pine Gap |date=3 September 2019 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-1-76087-215-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uoWaDwAAQBAJ |access-date=10 November 2023 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Pilger |first1=John |title=A Secret Country |author-link=John Pilger|date=1992 |publisher=Vintage |location=London |isbn=9780099152316 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPXUhDAqQ1YC |edition=12. print |access-date=7 November 2023}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
; General sources
{{refbegin}}
*1999 [[Joint Standing Committee on Treaties]]. [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/jscot/reports/26/ An Agreement to extend the period of operation of the Joint Defence Facility at Pine Gap] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506044038/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/jscot/reports/26/ |date=6 May 2015 }}. Report 26. Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, October 1999.
*2002 Craig Skehan, [https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/29/1033283389127.html "Pine Gap gears for war with eye on Iraq"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604095201/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/29/1033283389127.html |date=4 June 2016 }}. ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'', 30 September 2002.
*2003 [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]], [http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_in_time/Transcripts/s916941.htm Pine Gap] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822042335/http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_in_time/Transcripts/s916941.htm |date=22 August 2014 }}. Retranscription of program broadcast on 4 August 2003.
*2007 [https://web.archive.org/web/20070626040904/http://pinegap6.livejournal.com/ Pine Gap 6]
*2007 [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0%2C20867%2C21815635-1702%2C00.html&cid=0 "Judge rejects Pine Gap house arrest bid"]{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} The Australian, 29 May.
*2007 [http://www.upi.com/Security_Terrorism/Briefing/2007/06/11/aussies_eye_bmd_role/2041/&cid=1117183476 "Aussies eye BMD role"] United Press International, 11 Jun
*2007 [http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20070615074618/http://abc.net.au/news/items/200706/1943288.htm%3Falicesprings%26cid%3D0 "Pine Gap protest linked to Iraq war, pacifists tell court"] ABC, Australia, 5 Jun
*2007 [http://au.news.yahoo.com/070614/2/13qwi.html Protesters get a wrist slap] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070618035011/http://au.news.yahoo.com/070614/2/13qwi.html |date=18 June 2007 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/pine-gaps-wider-missile-role/2007/09/20/1189881684412.html Pine Gap's wider missile role], ''[[The Age]]'', 21 September 2007
*[http://nautilus.org/publications/books/australian-forces-abroad/defence-facilities/pine-gap/pine-gap-protests/protests-hist/ Pine Gap protests–historical] at [[Nautilus Institute]], April 2008
*[http://nautilus.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/PG-Managing-Operations-18-November-2015.v2.pdf Management of Operations at Pine Gap], [[Desmond Ball]], Bill Robinson and Richard Tanter, [[Nautilus Institute]], 24 November 2015
*[https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/the-base-pine-gaps-role-in-us-warfighting/8813604/ The Base: Pine Gap's Role in US Warfighting], ''Background Briefing'', ABC Radio National, 20 August 2017
*[https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/the-base-pine-gaps-role-in-us-warfighting/8813604/ NSA Documents on Pine Gap], from archive of Edward Snowden, ''Background Briefing'', ABC Radio National, 20 August 2017
*[https://theintercept.com/2017/08/19/nsa-spy-hub-cia-pine-gap-australia/ The U.S. Spy Hub in the Heart of Australia], ''The Intercept'', 20 August 2017

{{Australian intelligence agencies}}
{{Australian Defence Force}}
{{Australia–United States relations}}
{{National Reconnaissance Office}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:UKUSA listening stations]]
[[Category:Protests in Australia]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Alice Springs]]
[[Category:Earth stations in the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Australia–United States military relations]]
[[Category:Military installations of the United States in Australia]]
[[Category:1970 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Australian intelligence agencies]]
[[Category:Australian Defence Force]]
[[Category:Military installations in the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:MacDonnell Region]]