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CIA involvement in the Whitlam dismissal was [ 1 ] [ 2 ] the alleged involvement of the U. Whitlam's threat to not renew the lease on the Pine Gap facility was allegedly seen by the CIA as compromising the integrity of intelligence operations pertaining to the satellite projects Rhyolite and Argus, used for monitoring and surveillance of missile launch sites in the Soviet Union and China, [ 10 ] which were unknown to the Australian government at the time despite a blanket sharing agreement between the two countries.

Kerr denied any CIA involvement and Whitlam said Kerr did not need any encouragement from the CIA to sack him, and also denied his involvement in private communications, although he allegedly maintained several links to CIA-funded organisations such as LawAsia and the magazine Quadrant , and was referred to as "Our Man" by the CIA according to whistle-blower and leaker Christopher John Boyce.

The action of an unelected representative sacking an elected Prime Minister and replacing him with a caretaker prime minister caused the Australian Constitutional Crisis , referred to by Australian Labor Party and former Member of the House of Representatives Peter Staples as "the most blatant act of external interference in Australia's affairs and its autonomy as a nation and a democracy".

Cronk , detailing that a facility would be established in Pine Gap, ran jointly between ARPA US and the Australian Department of Defence , and which was created ostensibly "a facility for general defence research in the space field", [ 13 ] which would later be revealed by spy Christopher Boyce as a CIA satellite base, which operated as a relay for information from spy satellites under the programs named Rhyolite and Argus.

On 14 August , The Tribune posted an article which stated that without discussing with parliament, nor the people of Australia, the United States and the then-government of the Liberal Party had agreed to build Pine Gap. They also stated that questions had been put to the Australian government of Menzies several times but were evaded.

The article, written by "Staff Correspondent" stated that Australians could make clear that their country was not to be used by the United States as a "forward outpost".

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In December , Dr Robert Cooksey, a lecturer in political science at Australian National University stated in The Australian Quarterly in December that the site was used not only for scientific research but as a "spy in the sky" for intercepting soviet satellite communications and aiding [ 15 ] The New York Times described this as speculation. On 23 December , The Canberra Times wrote a summary of an article stating that Cooksey had used technical journals on ballistic missile technology to inform his work, and that originally Pine Gap was conceived as an orbital bombardment system but was abandoned following the 27 January Outer Space Treaty signed between the USSR and the United States, [ 16 ] prohibiting "plac[ing] nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station[ing] them in outer space in any other manner".

The solution to this problem, according to Cooksey, was a south-polar route, however, such a route would sacrifice the accuracy of the missiles, and thus, the Pine Gap base, among others, was constructed to aid in targeting. The New York Times on 29 December also stated that the Financial Review paper made the statement that if the implications of Pine Gap being a spy base were true, that then effectively Australia would become part of the United States in matters of strategic defence.

During , the topic of Pine Gap was widely discussed among politicians, the public and the press in Australia, with most criticism of the base being around the secrecy, lack of transparency and the risk its perceived role as a spying station played in placing Australia at risk of nuclear attack from the Soviet Union or China based on its political alignment with the United States.

Cairns also asked the secretary if he was aware that the site was being used for directing the launch of American nuclear missiles in the event of an attack on China, and for detection of any launches aimed at the United States. He concluded by surmising: "If this is so, would this not mean that Pine Gap would be a primary target in the event of a nuclear war?

The Tribune again reported on 7 March that Arther Calwell of the Australian Labour Party had requested to be able to visit the facility at Pine Gap, along with Lance Barnard , which was refused by Fairhall, who stated "In the case of Pine Gap, there will be no facilities provided for inspection".