- by Guardian correspondent
- The Guardian
- Issue #2200
Abby Martin, director of Earth’s Greatest Enemy
The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) held a conference from July 24th to 26th, “Time to Break Free from the US.” The conference was very well attended with several strong speakers to draw the crowds, most notably independent filmmaker Abby Martin of Empire Files renown.
The week leading up to the conference saw various ancillary events, including a guided boat tour of the Osborne shipyard in Port Adelaide where a nuclear submarine base is proposed to be built and a screening of Abby Martin’s documentary on the environmental devastation wrought by the US military, Earth’s Greatest Enemy. (see review p11 this issue)
Keynote sessions covered regional overviews of US imperialism, various mechanisms of US military control and intrusion in Australia such as AUKUS and the Force Posture Agreement and various options that Australia has to move toward peace and independence.
Notably, Mike Khizam from the Australian Friends of Palestine Association drew a standing ovation with his condemnation of the Gaza genocide. Auntie Sue Haseldine of the Kokatha nation described how the US dumps its space garbage on her country – from orbit – because it’s too dangerous to land it back where it came from.
Nick Hanna, a lawyer who has represented pro-Palestine activists facing disingenuous and politically motivated charges explained how the Zionist campaign to introduce new anti-protest laws will have impacts reaching beyond Palestinian solidarity, allowing authorities to crack down on peace and other protests as well.
Various workshops were held on different aspects of organising. There were discussions on media both traditional and mainstream, working with First Peoples and campaigning in the workplace. There were also sessions focusing on information, such as the details of US military access to Australian bases.
One session was dedicated to giving representatives from around 20 different peace and environmental groups a platform to introduce their organisations and share the lessons from their campaigning. These included community groups campaigning against AUKUS projects in their local area, professional organisations of teachers and medical professionals (including the NSW Teachers’ Federation) and various Palestinian solidarity groups. The session closed with a presentation from the Pine Gap Convergence, which had just organised a march of 600 people that shut down the CIA spy base in the middle of Australia for four days.
The conference went well overall, with most participants leaving energised and motivated to campaign for peace. There is still room for improvement.
Unfortunately, only two unions (the Maritime Union of Australia and the NSW Teachers’ Federation) sent delegations. Only the organised working class has the power to break the US imperialist stranglehold on Australia. Peace is union business, and we can only achieve it by mobilising and uniting workers’ organisations.
Ultimately, the real test of the conference will be the organisation that comes out of it. We have much do to, so let’s get to work.
Pine Gap quotations
“We want people to support us to close down Pine Gap. We want them to know it’s a sacred site. We don’t want to be feeling guilty all the time when bad things are happening overseas to little ones.
“We’re not the ones controlling that facility, but we feel guilty that it’s coming from our land. We want to see the Pine Gap facility closed so the generation coming can be safe. We want to be compensated so we can get houses at Whitegate community.”
Felicity, Wyonna and Jacquita Hayes – Arrernte Apmereke-artweye Traditional Custodians
“We know that signals intelligence data, captured by Pine Gap-controlled ORION satellites, has been historically made available to Israel. Unless the Australian direct and indirect military relationship to Israeli activities in the Gaza Strip are closely reviewed by the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security, it is not possible for the Australian government to assure the parliament and the Australian public that Australia is not complicit in acts of genocide.”
Professor Richard Tanter – SeniorResearch Associate, Nautilus Institute, leading expert on Pine Gap
“I’m against Pine Gap. Not only because I’m Palestinian. I understand that the genocide in Gaza against my people is made possible by intelligence flowing from the heart of this colony in Alice Springs directly to the Israeli occupation forces. Intelligence that is used to target and kill men, women and children in Palestine. As if that were not reason enough, I’m against Pine Gap because I reject an ideology that understands only domination. Domination at the expense of human life.”
Remah Naji – Palestinian activist with Justice for Palestine Magan-djin
