us military base to be built in geraldton

I wonder if this has anything to do yesterday's announcement re: expanding earth station assets and new worldwide contracts to be detailed in March


From the Newswire: Thursday, February 15, 2007 - The United States military will build a new spy base at Geraldton in Western Australia. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has agreed to host a ground station for a new US military satellite communications system. The plans for the base come after three years of covert negotiations between Washington and Canberra. The new US base will be built at the existing Australian defence facility at Geraldton and will be used by the Americans to monitor regions like the Middle East. It would be similar to the Pine Gap joint military facility in the Northern Territory.

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Dr Nelson says the details of the agreement will be finalised soon. He said the Government has full knowledge of the functions and purpose of the base. He said negotiations began in 2003 and were continuing and would be made public once the details were finalised. More ground stations could be built at other locations in Australia, Dr Nelson said. The new US communications base will be the first since the controversial Pine Gap spy base began operating in the Northern Territory over 20 years ago. The base will be a key component of a system carrying orders and intelligence to US and allied troops in the field.