Australia has received specific information about a possible "terrorist threat" to the country, Prime Minister John Howard said on Wednesday, but Australia's medium security alert remained unchanged. Picture taken October 27, 2005. REUTERS/David Gray

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia has received specific information about a possible "terrorist threat" to the country, Prime Minister John Howard said on Wednesday, but Australia's medium security alert remained unchanged.

A staunch U.S. ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Australia has never suffered a major peacetime attack on home soil. The country has been on medium security alert since shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

"The government has received specific intelligence from police information this week which gives cause for serious concern about a potential terrorist threat," Howard told reporters in Canberra.

"I don't want to over-alarm people. I have said for a long time the possibility of an attack is there," he said.

Howard refused to give any details about the nature or location of the threat, but said the government would rush through changes to anti-terror laws to enable police to respond.

News of the potential threat saw the Australian stock market fall about half a percent and the Australian dollar dip, touching a four-month low. "This will definitely spook some investors," said Garry Diakos, a dealer at Shaw Stockbroking.

Howard's warning comes as the nation's domestic intelligence service, the Australia Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), acknowledged for the first time that Australia had home-grown extremists, some of whom had received terror training overseas.

"Some of the more extremist individuals ASIO has identified and investigated are Australian-born," ASIO said in its annual report, adding that some were angry about the war in Iraq, while others believed they did not fit into Australian society.

Four Australians are currently awaiting trial in Sydney and Melbourne on terror charges, linked to supporting and training with banned groups such as al Qaeda.

Media reports said ASIO was believed to have concerns over up to 800 Muslims in Australia who have voiced support for politically motivated violence, while up to 80 people resident in Australia were known to have trained with militant organisations in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

NEW ANTI-TERROR LAWS

Howard plans to introduce a range of new anti-terror laws on Thursday following a review after the July 7 London bombings, although police shoot-to-kill provisions are expected to be watered down after opposition from state leaders.

The new laws, which have been criticised by human rights and civil liberties groups, will allow police to detain suspects for seven days without charge, and use electronic tracking devices to keep tabs on suspects. Supporting insurgents in countries such as Iraq would carry a seven-year jail sentence.

Howard said he expected parliament to pass urgent amendments by late Thursday, to allow authorities to lay charges against people involved with planning generic attacks, rather than current laws which relate only to specific attacks.

Security analyst Aldo Borgu said Australians would be cynical about Howard's warning unless the new amendments led to arrests.

"People are going to be very cynical unless the government

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