Lone-wolf terror plots foiled by Australian police

Security and intelligence agencies in the Australian state of Victoria have foiled several lone-wolf terrorism threats, the state's police commissioner said on Thursday.

Victoria Police commissioner Graham Ashton told Macquarie radio that some significant attacks had been prevented by authorities recently, highlighting the need to remain vigilant.

"We certainly have had a number of potentials for attack that we have thwarted," Ashton said.

But he admitted it was becoming harder to prevent attacks from occurring, as the number of potential threats grew each year.

"(The attacks are) growing at a rate that there's an inevitability about a terrorist event occurring," Ashton added. "We have to be on the ball the whole time."

These comments come less than 24 hours after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced a funding injection for the state's counter-terrorism forces.

The 36.3-million U.S. dollar increase will be used to purchase new resources and recruit up to 88 new security experts and investigators into the force.

"Recent events in Paris and in other parts of the world show that we can never be complacent when it comes to the threat of violent extremists," Andrews said.

"Police and national security agencies are working around the clock to monitor and respond to potential risks and we will always support them in keeping Victorians safe." Endit