Gary, I am with you, there is no threat to Australia, certainly not the one that the government used. We need a new form of political commentator, one who can make a musical out of such stage managed, and manufactured drama.

Cameron,
From I can make out the the intelligence problem identified by ASIO is not new. Islamic militants were raided in Sydney and Melbourne in June as part of an investigation codenamed Operation Pandanus, and they are well-known to ASIO and to police.

Do they constitute a problem that is intensifying? That is unclear as the truthfulness of ASIO's advice, that a terrorist threat is under way on Australian soil,is unknowable. There is no firm evidence of a specific plot and so no legal basis to arrest those involved.

The new amendment rushed through parliament this week removes the need for authorities to identify a specific terror plot before making arrests. It opens the way for the national security state to arrest some of the suspects in Operation Pandanus who were previously beyond the reach of the law.

What we do have is ASIO"s profile of Australian-born Islamic extremists as being effectively cut adrift from mainstream society. This says that they lean heavily on their perception of confict as a battle between "Muslims and infidels" and that:

"This perception engenders a sense of isolation and rejection, which is difficult for moderate elements in the Australian community to counteract, and the moderates are perceived to be part of the problem by the extremists".

ASIO is understood to be concerned by potential security risk posed by about 700 to 800 Muslims in Australia who have expressed support for politically motivated violence.

You can see the expansion of the National Security state. The "threat" ---it is really a spectre--of home-grown terrorists--- justifies ASIO'S plan to recruit up to 500 extra spies in the next five years.

What we have is a stagemanged expansive national security agenda built around a new generation of fundamentalists that ASIO fears may soon spawn the nation's first successful home-grown terrorist.