It’s an interesting thought as we stand by for John Key’s well telegraphed announcement that we’re off to Iraq.

The thought is – what’s of greater danger to us: ISIS in Iraq or Syria or Libya catching the odd ill-advised journalist or aid worker and putting them to death, or the nutter on the loose on our streets?

What will have more impact on us: A battle in a far off land? Or some dead people in a café like Sydney or Paris or Copenhagen?

What should worry us all sick is what Australia discovered and released in their report over the weekend into the Monis case. What they discovered is what they already knew and it’s what we know here too.

Government departments are almost always found wanting when you look into how they operate, and one of the ways they are almost always found wanting is they don’t talk to each other. 

Every single department knew about Monis but no one told another department and joined a few dots. Why?

Because by their very nature Government agencies aren't proactive, they’re not forward thinkers, they operate under mandate and instruction. 

They follow the rules to the letter because there is a political consequence they fear if they don’t. They want to be able to say we did what we were told. 

Tony Abbott summed it up sadly but perfectly, in isolation Monis wasn't trouble to any one agency.

For each agency Monis fitted the same profile of any number of others wandering around being odd, but not calamitous.

So here’s our issue, our Government departments are exactly the same. They don’t talk to each other; the GCSB and Dotcom are a case in point.

So are the 40 to 80 people being monitored properly or not?

And do we really want to wait to find out? Abbott found out, which is why he gave the security speech he did yesterday.

Welcome to the world where your privacy rights got put behind the safety of your fellow citizen, and might I add not a moment too soon.

Australia is now clamping down all over the place, including reverse burden of proof. If they don’t like the look of you, it will now be up to you to prove you’re not trouble.

I hope we never get to that here, but Sydney is awfully close.

Someone emailed me and said now I’ll be second guessing everything I say on Facebook. My response? Good.

If you are saying things you’re worried about, don’t say them.

The world, led by Barack Obama, has been glacial in waking up to what we face and how well organised, invasive and deadly it is. 

Tony Abbott needed dead people in downtown Sydney to act. 

Let’s hope we’re not as delusional.