MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 26 July 2024
- Australia should be investing in earth care not warfare
- Pitch Black exercises endanger lives and livelihood of people and health of the environment
The dangerous practice of military jet fighters engaged in low flying over remote, rural and urban residences which can go on for an hour at a time are a major source of noise pollution.
The very costly annual Operation Pitch Black 24 air exercises in the Northern Territory currently underway “endanger the lives and livelihood of people, the health of the environment and actually prevent the world from being peaceful and secure”, stated Ms Rickard.
“At the same time that our country faces an existential crisis of climate change and diversity loss, our Federal Government is investing in warfare that only adds to global emissions and environmental pollution and destruction” stated Ms Diana Rickard, spokesperson for the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN).
“Native wildlife as well as farm animals become greatly disturbed and only get temporary relief when there is a pause in the exercises”.
When there is an incident such as the one on Wednesday, where an Italian air craft crashed in the Douglas Daley region – it directly impacts the lands of First Nations’ peoples, not the lands where the aircraft originated from.
People working from home face significant interruptions with the disturbance to the peace as there is simply no way of getting away from the noise and the mental stress it causes.
Houses near the RAAF Darwin flightpath are particularly adversely impacted. Noise readings for take-offs and landings have registered dangerous levels of 91 to 102 decibels.
“Pitch Black exercises are occurring amidst the growing tensions between the USA and China and are designed to make the ADF and USA forces interoperable for future battles.”
“The USA sees Australia as ideal to train for and exact a war against China- but these exercises do nothing to make local residents feel safe or protected”, stated Ms Rickard
“Participating in these exercises is simply not in Australia’s interests – and IPAN urges the Australian Government to end its involvement.
Australia’s alliance with the United States which has been bolstered by AUKUS is the impetus for massive military buildup and risks setting off an arms race.
“It is also disturbing that Australia is training with countries that are committing genocide in West Papua and Palestine with weapons on display that are used to terrorise innocent people”, stated Ms Rickard.
“Now is the time for Australia to stand as an independent nation and work with peoples around the world to address the existential threats of climate change and nuclear war and not prepare for more war”, stated Ms Rickard.
IPAN will be facilitating conversation about these critical issues at their national conference from 4-6 October in Perth, where the UK and US are fast tracking the HMAS Stirling naval base nuclear submarines base in South Perth. ipan-conference-2024-sleepwalking-into-war
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Bio: Diana Rickard is an eco-peace educator with the Top End Peace Alliance and a member of IPAN
Bio: Justin Tutty is a Darwin-based anti-nuclear activist and founding member of IPAN
For Media Interviews:
M: Diana Rickard 0429 886 967
M: Justin Tutty 0424 028 741
Media Liaison:
Jonathan Pilbrow M: 0403 611 815
EXERCISE PTICH BLACK is a biennial warfare exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It takes place primarily in Northern Australia, specifically at RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal. The aim of this exercise is to practice Offensive Counter Air (OCA) and Defensive Counter Air (DCA) combat in a simulated war environment Operation Pitch Black Darwin and Tindal 2024 is the largest in its 43-year history, with 20 participating nations, over 140 aircraft, and around 4435 personnel
Note: IPAN comprises individual members and a network of around 50 organisations www.ipan.org.au