So this operation has all the hallmarks of a false flag to get bad laws passed on a wave of fear based support... Lo and behold, this appears in parliament.
That...isn't what false flag means.
Almost certainly there was a real investigation going on. Someone (probably Abbott himself) just put the call down that they wanted it closed up, asked for a worst case scenario (which would've been dutifully given) and then they were told to go ahead with arrests on the basis of that.
All a colossal waste of money which I'm sure a bunch of analysts and intelligence officers were probably pretty pissed about because any actual leads they might've been following would've gotten a huge "go to ground" flag and they're probably the ones getting the blowback for it not yielding terrorists that they themselves could've told you wouldn't be found at that time.
What doesn't get said about this type of BS, is that at the end of the day we don't end up being any safer because intelligence is being pushed to create a narrative, not actual results.