The Islamic State bogeyman has arrived in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia — Australia has changed a lot in the last few weeks.

First, the terror threat level was raised from medium to high. Then, on Sept. 18, Australians woke to news that terrorism was no longer an abstract, faraway concept. It is here. We are all in danger.

An offensive, billed as Australia's largest counterterrorism operation, had transpired before dawn, across two cities. With military precision, more than 800 officers raided 25 properties across Sydney; 70 more participated in Brisbane.

Operation Appleby — a joint effort by New South Wales police officers, the Australian Federal Police and ASIO, Australia's intelligence organization — thwarted a plot to "commit violent acts,” including a plan to capture a random member of the public in Sydney, drape them in an Islamic State (IS) flag and behead them on camera, government officials said.

As a result of the raids, two men were charged and two others received court attendance notices.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the police had received intelligence that showed "intent" of terror attacks: "The exhortations, quite direct exhortations, were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL [another acronym for IS] to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country."

Five days later, on Sept. 23, the fatal shooting of Melbourne terror suspect Numan Haider, 18, by counterterrorism officers ratcheted up national anxiety. There have been a number of scares reported in the days since.

While calling for calm, Abbott’s conservative government — already under fire over climate change denialism and hard-line refugee policies, including a controversial deal to resettle refugees in Cambodia — has raised the anxiety level for many further by rushing through extraordinary new intelligence powers.

On Sept. 25, just one week after the raid, the Australian Senate passed the first phase of planned national security legislation, enacting the biggest changes to the country’s intelligence agencies in 35 years. The bill enables the monitoring of the entire Australian internet, and may restrict press freedom.

In the days before the bill was passed, Abbott had warned that "there may be more restrictions on some, so that there can be more protection for others."

Satirists are having a field day. The Shovel, Australia's version of the Onion, ran a "Freedom Reduced In Order To Maintain Freedom" headline. It has also reported that spy agency “ASIO [Will] Watch While You Have Sex Tonight,” in order to “curb terrorist attacks on Australian soil.”

And #HeyASIO is getting plenty of laughs on Twitter. For example:
 

Meanwhile, Greens leader Senator Christine Milne said her party was "calling for calm" following the raids.

"We need to very carefully evaluate that our response will actually make Australians safer. It is important that we do not write a blank check to the expanding surveillance and police state.

“In times of heightened security, civil liberties like privacy and freedom of speech are more vital than ever. The new national security legislation contains significant changes that overturn long-held values of the justice system and restrict civil liberties … we must make sure we can find and prosecute the guilty while protecting the innocent," she said.

The day after the raids, the opposition's deputy leader, Labor's Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development, Tanya Plibersek, said Australians must remember that extremists are a minority. "David Irvine, the outgoing ASIO chief, has said in the past that most of their good intelligence comes from members of the Muslim community who are talking about family members or associates who are engaging in behavior that is troubling to them. So you’ve got to remember that this group of people yesterday [targeted in the raids are] a very small section of the community."

Meanwhile, for everyday residents of multicultural Australia, it is business as usual.

Mostly.

Bulgarian-born Australian architect Chaya Bratoeva, 35, said she is now "much more aware" of traveling into central Sydney. "I have not changed my daily routine, but when planning days out with my family I would prefer to avoid busy central areas."

The pregnant mother of one said she still felt safe traveling via train. "But I am definitely more aware of my surrounds and my fellow passengers … I’m likely to cancel plans if I am told that there is higher than normal risk."

A mother and part-time student in Sydney, South African Naomi Warr, 37, said: "For me, the threats don't seem that real. Perhaps I should be more concerned? We live close to the suburbs that were raided and my husband works in one of them. I have concerns for what this is going to do to the Australian economy. On a day-to-day front that is more threatening to my family at this stage than random terror attacks."

Brisbane clinical psychologist Judith Locke said: "Any paranoia or anxiety brought on by these events is likely to be pre-existing.

"If you want to do something to help on public transport then keep an eye out for your fellow commuters, particularly the sorts of minorities that may be unfairly targeted at these times. Actions that genuinely help improve situations and people will assist you much better than worrying will."