Didn't the Howard government enact the Anti-Terrorism Act 2005, which was your lot's equivalent to the PATRIOT Act? And other acts since then [0]. You've been subjected to tyranny all this time, you just weren't paying attention.
[0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/0...
https://theconversation.com/before-9-11-australia-had-no-cou...