The Justice Minister and his Opposition counterpart have dismissed suggestions last week's terrorism raids were some sort of political theatre.
Michael Keenan faced claims on the ABC's Q&A program last night that the raids were part of a political spectacle designed to win support for Australia's actions in Iraq and the proposed national security laws.
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said the fact the media were invited along to the raids and were provided footage "to me ... feels like an element of theatre".
It was a view echoed by lawyer and author Randa Abdel-Fattah, who said the spectacle of the raids "reinforced this wider narrative as Muslims as criminals, as Muslims as the antagonists of the Australian values".
Mr Keenan rejected that premise.
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Find out more about the Government's suite of proposed anti-terrorism laws targeting so-called foreign fighters and Australian terror threats.
"There were raids at over a dozen locations all around Sydney and there was some subsequent activity in Queensland," he said.
"And of course if you are going to send armed police into such an enormous number of locations in a city, then of course people are going to notice, and it's up to the police to inform people about what is going on."
He also said it is nonsense to suggest the Government directed the timing of the raids.
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said neither terrorist acts nor the anti-terrorism raids could be described as theatre.
"Terrorism involves the commission of real crimes, real murders, real injuries to real people and counter-terrorism is the efforts of our agencies to deal with the threat of those crimes being committed," he said.
It comes as laws to strengthen the powers of security agencies are slated to be debated by the Senate today.
A second round of counter-terrorism legislation, targeting foreign fighters, is due to be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday.
Addressing Parliament for the first time since last week's major counter-terrorism raids, Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Monday warned Australians that the balance between freedom and security "may have to shift", given the current "troubling" and "darkening" security situation.
Muslim woman 'trolled by right-wing Nazis'
Meanwhile, Mr Keenan was forced to defend police procedures after accusations by an audience member who said right-wing group the Australian Defence League (ADL) had threatened to cut her children's throats and rape her.
"ADL make threats to myself and my family telling me they want to behead me, so everything you are saying right now is very insulting," the woman told the Minister during the live broadcast.
Video: Michael Keenan is accused of ignoring ADL threats
The woman said she has reported the abuse to police "numerous times".
"I'm trolled 24 hours a day on Facebook and social media because of these right-wing Nazis," she said.
"My life is not pleasant right now living in this country, and no-one seems to care because I am Muslim and they're not."
Mr Keenan said it was unfair that anyone was targeted for being of a certain background and that he was certain police did not target one group over another.
"We would take complaints of that nature very seriously," he said.
"I will certainly make sure that the issue that the young lady down there has been is thoroughly investigated. I will follow up on that and get back to you about it."
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