"the US has never needed bases in Australia to be in deep shit."

Quite right!

The US does not NEED the bases so it can be in deep shit - it can manage that quite well by itself!

However the bases have been here for for ages, and are so secret that we Aussies are not even allowed to know what goes on in them! However, by reading US Pentagon & White House press releases, we have learned that the USA would be in deep shit WITHOUT them! :-)

They are so secret that all the secret satellite and other cutting edge military stuff wouldn't work without them, the US tells us. :-)