Yacqub Khayre, 22, of Meadow Heights, Sany Edow Aweys, 26, of Carlton North, Abdirahmin Mohamud Ahmed, 25, of Preston, and Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, 33, of Melbourne Remand Centre, have all entered not guilty pleas on terrorism charges.
It is alleged the men were part of a conspiracy to attack Sydney's Holsworthy Army Base.
In a telephone call intercepted by police, Aweys tells a friend the "filthy people'' are being brought down hard by Allah.
"The whole nation is coming down, first the economy comes down first,'' he said.
"By Allah, factories shutting down, nothing here mate, nothing barely anything.
"By Allah, I've never seen Melbourne like this, then fire coming to them, no water, the water storage is empty.
"They are coping hard man. Thanks to Allah, thanks to Allah.''
A trial for the men is expected to begin next year.
A fifth man, Nayef El Sayed, 25 of Glenroy, will face a contested committal hearing on May 24 next year.
Source: The Australian