Her comments come a day after police in Sydney and Brisbane thwarted an alleged plot by Islamist extremists to snatch a random member of the Australian public and behead them on camera.

Police detained 15 and arrested two in the nation’s biggest ever counter-terrorism raids.

The arrests come just days after Prime Minister Tony Abbott raised Australia’s terror warning to high alert.

Despite Thursday’s events, Ms Chesters said she doubted whether Bendigo would be a potential target for terrorists.

 “I don’t believe we are at risk in our region,” Ms Chesters said.

“We should be able to confidently go about our lives like we do every other day.

“My advice is if people feel they are under the threat of violence, do what they would normally do and report the matter to police, who will investigate as they normally do.”

Ms Chesters, who was in Castlemaine when police and ASIO officers swooped on homes throughout Sydney and Brisbane, said the threat of terrorism had not been been a talking point among locals.

“I can say it (terrorism) hasn’t been raised by anyone in the community but the media,” she said.

“Nobody in the public has come up and raised it with me.

“What they have raised with me is that they don’t trust Abbott.”

Ms Chesters declared Bendigo one of the most secure places in Australia.

She called for people to remain calm and to go about their normal lives.

Security at Parliament House was upgraded on Thursday after the Prime Minister confirmed intelligence had been detected about terrorists targeting Parliament House and politicians.

Ms Chesters said threats against politicians and Parliament House were not uncommon and often not terror related.

“It’s one of the most secure buildings in Australia, if not the safest,” she said.

“We don’t know if this latest threat is out of the ordinary."