"This country has never been immune from a possible terrorist attack," he said. "That remains the situation today and it will be the situation tomorrow."
Ali traveled to Canberra on Wednesday to appeal to the government to abandon plans to pass additional counterterrorism laws by Christmas.
Muslims were concerned that provisions preventing terror suspects from discussing their detentions and interrogations and the media from reporting it could conceal abuses in the system and lead to racial profiling.
"Under the existing laws, they have averted a disaster from taking place in this country; they have arrested the people who have been conspiring ... so we don't need new laws," Ali said.
Both cells were led by one of the detainees, the 45-year-old firebrand cleric Abu Bakr, an Australian who was born in Algeria, a prosecutor said. Bakr made headlines earlier this year by calling bin Laden a "good man."
The suspects were stockpiling the same kind of chemicals used in the deadly July 7 transit bombings in London, prosecutor Richard Maidment said at a hearing for the nine people arrested there.
"Each of the members of the group are committed to the cause of violent jihad," he added, saying they underwent training at a camp northeast of Melbourne.
Bakr was charged with leading the terrorist group while the Melbourne suspects were charged with membership of a terror group. Two of the men were denied bail on Wednesday.
The seven men arrested in Sydney were ordered jailed until another session Friday on charges of preparing a terrorist act by manufacturing explosives. The man shot by police was under guard in hospital and was not immediately charged.
Detective Sgt. Chris Murray told the court that police surveillance had picked up one suspect, 20-year-old Merhi, pleading for permission to become a martyr.
Murray said Merhi appeared impatient and it was clear to police he wanted to die in a way "similar to the nature of a suicide bomber."
Maidment said the Melbourne cell appeared eager to be first to stage an attack.
"There has been discussion amongst the Melbourne group that the Sydney group were further ahead of them and they were anxious to do something themselves," he said.
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Associated Press writers Meraiah Foley in Sydney and Rod McGuirk in Canberra contributed to this report.
