Malcolm Turnbull has ramped up his rhetoric on national security and terrorism in the year since his re-election as prime minister - and he's had good reason to talk tough.
There's been a resurgence of attacks targeting the West, resulting in the death of four Australians.
A 12-year-old schoolgirl died in a bomb blast at a Baghdad ice-cream shop in May, the same week two young women were killed in the London Bridge attack.
A few days later a man was shot dead during a siege in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton - the fifth and latest incident on home soil since September 2014.
While the terror threat level hasn't changed in that time, Turnbull has been trying to prepare Australians for the worst.
He's made three statements to parliament on national security since the July 2 election - in September, November and the most recent in June.
Each has been calm, considered and comprehensive.
Turnbull has repeatedly warned of the growing threat in south-east Asia as networks of extremists galvanised and foreign fighters returned to the region.
He's also noted the trend in lone wolf attacks and those in crowded places - both of which were hard for authorities to thwart.
The conversation of late, though, has turned to espionage, foreign interference, cyber security and online extremism.
"Very consciously, the prime minister picks out an issue or two and says 'Here's what we're going to be doing about it'," terrorism expert Jacinta Carroll told AAP.
"He's talked specifically about the things that need to be done practically ... but I don't think that has resonated as well as it might with the community."
Turnbull, for example, announced the development of a national strategy for mass public gatherings following a review ordered soon after the election.
But Australians have been told little about its rollout and success.
"For whatever reason, it's not hitting the mark," Carroll said.
The prime minister's change in language, though, has been noticeable.
While it's far cry from the uninhibited commentary of his predecessor Tony Abbott, it has been getting stronger.
From describing Australian foreign fighters as, essentially, the enemy, to labelling terrorism "a corruption, a disease within Islam".
There's also been a shift in policy focus in recent months, with Turnbull using national security as a justification for controversial changes to citizenship laws.
Other counter-terrorism measures are also on their way, as a number of reviews are finalised and consideration is given to the coroner's report into the Lindt cafe siege.
The use of encryption by criminals and extremists is high on Turnbull's agenda in 2017, with the prime minister calling out to tech giants for help.
"The privacy of a terrorist can never be more important than public safety. Never," he told MPs in his June national security statement.
