The Abbott government has been caught red-handed using national security, our independent police and security agencies, and the fear of terrorism itself, as tools for Liberal Party gain.

Once or twice might be contestable, but a clear pattern has emerged revealing a government too ready to stoke community fear and then parlay its "tough" policy responses for its own aggrandisement.

This harsh judgment is the reasonable conclusion from a series of breaches in the last fortnight. Consider three examples: a leaked briefing paper instructing ministers on how best to use what would have been extraordinary citizenship cancellation powers to politically isolate the ALP; a cynical fundraising campaign by the Victorian Liberal Party using the citizenship and terrorism to solicit political donations; and a media stunt at ASIO headquarters in which potentially sensitive maps showing IS recruitment zones in Melbourne and Sydney were released into the public domain.