THE likelihood of a terrorist attack in Australia remains "probable" as counter-terrorist agencies shift focus to the potential of a Paris-style attack on shopping and cafe precincts in the country. 
Speaking in London after talks with counterparts on the continued threat of Islamic State militants and other terror groups, Justice Minister Michael Keenan said national security considerations had to evolve as the threat evolved.
He said it was clear Islamic State wanted to do damage to Australia and the chaos and violence being exported from the conflict in Syria - in the name of the terror group and others - meant an attack was "real and probable".
"While ISIS exists, they will be destabilising our security in the same way they are literally destabilising global security and we need to see them destroyed and a political solution implemented in Syria if we are going to see a stop to that export of violence and terror that we are all subject to at the moment," Mr Keenan said.
His comments came just hours after police arrested a ringleader in   November's terror attacks in Paris which claimed 130 lives.
Salah Abdeslam was shot and wounded in a raid on a building in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, a stronghold for Muslim extremism.
Mr Keenan, who is also the minister assisting the Prime Minister on counter-terrorism, also spoke to French and German counterparts about the evolving threat.
"In days gone by, we were more concerned about bomb threats and now its lone wolf attacks, mass casualty attacks and active shooter scenarios," he said. "Our police have always trained for these sort of contingencies but the thing we are doing is in keeping with when you see attacks like Paris and Jakarta.
"It does make you think 'lets go back and see everything we are doing is in keeping with the ways the threats have evolved'.
"An attack in Australia is probable. We have had three attacks, we've stopped six attacks which I don't think is that well understood, really terrible stuff that has been stopped by authorities in the past 18 months, while at the same time in Europe there has been 13 attacks, 150 people killed and almost 400 injured." Earlier, Mr Keenan met with French Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas in Paris where they agreed to share lessons from their nations' measures to stop inmates taking up extreme ideologies and rehabilitate terror offenders.
"You don't want them going into prison either first of all to become more radicalised, getting a network of other radicalised prisoners and, of course, affecting others in the prison system with that violent ideology," he said.
Despite the continued threat Mr Keenan said Australia was the best it could be in terms of national security contingencies backed by budgeted resources and new government laws.
"Prisons can be a breeding ground for escalating criminality, with vulnerable prisoners exposed to serious organised crime figures and the evolving threat of terrorist influences," he said.PAGE 26: terror kingpin caught