The Guardian 26 April, 2006
Pine Gap activists on trial
under previously unused law
Attorney General Phillip Ruddock has made a political decision to legally prosecute four Christians under a previously unused law. They are accused of entering the top secret US spy base Pine Gap prohibited area 20km from Alice Springs on December 9 last year and damaging fences, sensors and switches.
Northern Territory chief prosecutor, Paul Usher, worked overtime on the Easter weekend to give the four notice of the charges by e-mail, after keeping them in suspense for more than four months. He chose Easter Saturday to let them know that Attorney General Phillip Ruddock had decided to charge them under the never before used 1952 Defence (Special Undertakings) Act. The decision blurs the separation of political and judicial powers touted by the establishment in countries like Australia.
This law carries a penalty of seven years jail for merely trespassing on Pine Gap land, as well as two years jail for taking photos. The members of the group are already charged with a number of the more usual charges (also carrying possible jail terms) under the Crimes Act.
The four are Donna Mulhearn, Jim Dowling, Adele Goldie and Bryan Law. They were in court in Alice Springs on Wednesday April 19. They told the court they believed the joint US-Australian facility played a role in the targeting of missiles in Iraq.
"We went to Pine Gap to take personal responsibility for what we believe is a crime against humanity", Jim Dowling said.
Bryan Law said that the top Australian official at the base, Deputy Chief of Facility Michael Burgess, had given permission for a peaceful protest to be held.
Alice Springs Magistrate Michael Carey found there was sufficient evidence to commit them for trial. They will be arraigned on June 5 in Alice Springs for a trial later that month and will face further charges under the NT criminal code in July.
The charges all arise from the incident last December when a group of six people known as Christians Against All Terrorism reportedly notified the Defence Minister of their desire to inspect the Pine Gap base for terrorist activity as they believed it was being used to provide targeting information for terrorist bombing in Iraq. When the Minister refused they announced their intention to inspect the base anyhow.
Despite the warning and the posting of extra security at one of the most sensitive spy bases in the world, it is claimed that two members of the group managed to enter the base and climb on the roof of a building and take photos before being found. An hour later, in broad daylight two other group members are reported to have walked through the outer restricted area right up to the high security fence with one member started cutting through it before being stopped by the security.
Group member Donna Mulhearn said the government and military are obviously highly embarrassed by the ability of a small group of unarmed, untrained, unfunded pacifists to so easily break their security after telling them we were coming.
"No one can claim the decision to try to punish us severely is not a political decision coming as it does from Phillip Ruddock and not the Public Prosecutor", she said.
"It is quite amazing and perhaps appropriate that they chose the Easter Weekend to make the decision", Donna said. "This is the time all Christians remember the crucifixion and resurrection of the Prince of Peace. We were arrested for peacemaking. We were trying to expose the criminal role of Pine Gap in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands innocent people."