Protesters hold ‘vigil’ near Alice Springs spy base Pine Gap, call for bases closure

Four police cars were waiting for the protesters when they arrived outside the base, which the group wants shut. Find out why.

Police were waiting for the attendees to arrive. A vigil and protest has been held on Hatt Rd, south of Alice Springs, calling for the closure of Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility, on July 4. Hatt Rd leads into Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, with a number of protesters gathering on the road outside the restricted area and calling for the base to shut on July 4, 2025. Picture: Gera Kazakov

A Red Centre spy base – run by the Australian and US governments – became the site of a “vigil” the day the USA celebrated its independence.

About 60 people gathered on Hatt Rd – which leads into Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility, located south of Alice Springs – Friday morning as part of the vigil.

The event was organised by Mpartwe for Falastin, and one of the organisers, Jorgen Assmussen Doyle said, the event was calling for Pine Gap to be shut.

“Under traditional owners, no permission was ever sought and no permission was granted for the base to be there,” he said.

A vigil and protest has been held on Hatt Rd, south of Alice Springs, calling for the closure of Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility, on July 4. Hatt Rd leads into Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, with a number of protesters gathering on the road outside the restricted area and calling for the base to shut on July 4, 2025. Picture: Gera Kazakov

The group was stationed at the Kuyunba Conservation Reserve, outside the base’s restricted zone, where they held a picnic and musicians performed songs with lyrics such as “we don’t want your spy base in this town” and “close Pine Gap now”.

Upon arrival, attendees were met by four police cars blocking the road past the restricted zone.

A police officer at the scene said they were there for “road safety purposes” but would be forced to take action if anyone tried to cross into the restricted zone.

NT Police guard Hatt Rd. Picture: Gera Kazakov

Mpartwe for Falastin alleges the base “participates” in the Israel Gaza conflict, and “was integral in providing targets in the Israeli-US war of aggression against Iran”.

In June, after the US bombed Iran, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese deflected the question when asked if Pine Gap was involved in the US strike. 

Pine Gap is a joint Australian-United States satellite communications and signals intelligence surveillance base and Australian Earth station. Picture: Wikicommons

“We don’t talk about intelligence matters, but we confirm, of course, that this was a unilateral action by the United States,” Mr Albanese told reporters on June 23.

It’s the second time this year the group has gathered and called for the base’s closure.

In February, protesters stood out the front of the main gates inside the restricted zone, where they held a banner and called for the base to be shut. 

A group of protesters have blocked the entry to Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, south of Alice Springs, on Sunday, February 23, 2025. Picture: Instagram/ Mparntwe for Falastin

In 2023, two protesters allegedly affixed themselves to a 44-gallon drum on Hatt Rd – the road which leads into the base – and allegedly blocked operations to the base.

The two protesters, Carmen Escobar Robinson, 40, and Alexandra Elizabeth Walker, 33, are fighting charges of obstructing a public road, failing to cease to loiter, and creating a traffic hazard or obstruction.

They have pleaded not guilty to their charges, and will be back in court in September.

Pine Gap opened in the 1970s, operating as a signal facility run by the United States government and the Australian government., and has long been shrouded in secrecy.

Originally published as Protesters hold ‘vigil’ near Alice Springs spy base Pine Gap, call for bases closure