It’s a time of major events: Donald Trump has again been elected President of the USA and its biggest foreign spy base Pine Gap features in the movie Twilight Time to be screened in Alice Springs on Saturday.
For decades “the base” has been described as a prime nuclear target. Does that worry the town? Apparently not.
The council’s policy dates back to 1987 and today still states:
“Policy No. 111: Council supports the retention of the Australian / American Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, and acknowledges the importance of this Facility for the defence of Australian territory and for the economic and social benefit of Alice Springs.”
Given Mr Trump doesn’t like wars, is it time to shut down the facility?
“Let’s wait and see if the Trump administration will be able to generate world peace, the way he asserts,” says Twilight Time writer director John Hughes.
His film is about Desmond Ball (1947-2016) who was hailed by Jimmy Carter as “the man who saved the world”: He established the fallacy of the doctrine of “limited” nuclear war.
A senior Australian figure at Pine Gap, in conversation with me, off the record, of course, described Mr Ball as a ratbag.
But from 1984 to 1991 the defence analyst led the ANU’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre.
“He gazed at signals intelligence facilities around the world and worked out what they did and why,” says Mr Hughes in a promotion of the film.
“He trekked deep into the sensitive borderlands of Burma and Thailand, advising persecuted minorities on signals intelligence.”
One of first research interviews Mr Hughes shot was with Alice Springs journalist and author, Kieran Finnane, who was working on what was to become her book Peace Crimes (2020, University of Queensland Press).
Mr Hughes, who will appear at the screening with Ms Finnane, cites an Australian newspaper’s take on how Washington sees Australia: The Top End is a launching pad for attacking China. The Centre provides intel and a place for weapons testing. And the south is useful for manufacturing (submarines).
Will Trump make Australia great again?
That is likely to be in the hands of the Pentagon rather than the White House, says Mr Hughes.
The film will show at Araluen at 7pm on Saturday, November 9.
Republished from Alice Springs News, 7 November, 2024
Contributions to Pearls and Irritations
Your contribution will fund quality independent comment and analysis in Pearls and Irritations
Contribute
