The Australian government has been accused of manufacturing a link between asylum seekers and terrorism.
Pamela Curr of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre believes Canberra has fabricated the extent of illegal immigration.
She says Australia's numbers are still negligible compared to countries in the Middle East and Europe.
Her comment comes after about 800 Australian police last week conducted unprecedented raids on suspected terrorist cells in Sydney and Brisbane.
Ms Curr aligns the raids with the government's treatment of asylum seekers.
"What we're seeing is the assault on asylum seekers, the linking of asylum seekers as illegals, as potential terrorists, and then we see the Australian government moving into this terror Australia role of promoting the idea that we are at imminent threat of mass beheadings in public places."
Photo: AAP