Ten years after the Lindt Café siege shocked the nation, the man leading the ground-breaking investigation into the tragedy has issued a stark warning to Australians.
“People have this idea that the terrorist threat has passed,” said former New South Wales coroner Michael Burns.
“I think it's possible that something like this could happen again at any stage.”
Mr Burns led the inquest into the December 2014 siege in which terrorist man Haron Monis held 18 people hostage for 16 hours inside Sydney's Martin Place.
Moniz shot and killed cafe manager Tori Johnson, and lawyer Katrina Dawson was killed by fragments of police bullets in the final moments of the siege.
Mr Burns, who currently chairs the powerful NSW Crime Commission, released a series of findings and recommendations following an 18-month investigation into the tragedy.
He said NSW Police did not respond quickly enough, that the gunman should not have been released on bail during the siege, that calls for help for the hostages were not responded to, and that the damage caused It was revealed that the family members of the victims were treated with insensitivity.
Burns said he remains wary of a laissez-faire approach to domestic terrorist threats, but said lessons have been learned from the siege.
“Police are now in a better position to deal with these issues,” he says.
“This has been a learning experience not only for NSW but also for police forces across the country.”
One of the inquest's key findings was that police missed an opportunity to storm the cafe after Monis fired the first shot, which could have saved Johnson and Dawson's lives. It was said that it could not be done.
After the inquest concluded in 2016, then-NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller admitted police should have stepped in sooner.
“I give you this assurance…we are not going to wait 17 hours again,” he said.
A year after the deadly siege, Australia's largest police force has adopted a shoot-to-shoot strategy in response to terrorist situations, replacing controversial containment and negotiation procedures. This proved to be costing valuable time at the coroner's inquest.
During sieges, police were also required to make individual decisions about when to use deadly force.
“People who are under incredible stress and who are putting themselves at great risk are probably not in the best position to make those decisions,” Burns said.
“So we thought it was justified to put it a little higher up in the hierarchy.”
New South Wales legislation has now been changed to comply with this recommendation.
Police staffing was also a concern highlighted at the Barnes inquest.
Specially equipped trucks were taken off the road and negotiators worked in four-wheel drive vehicles before moving into a small room inside the Leagues Club.
There were no whiteboards or live feeds in the building, and only one landline phone. Meanwhile, the lead negotiator had never dealt with a hostage situation before.
Mr. Monis's major demands, including securing media coverage, arranging a meeting with the prime minister, and presenting him with the Islamic State flag, were delayed in reaching the commander-in-chief and none were granted.
“I think that in some ways it was hindered by the idea that we couldn't make concessions to terrorists.” [police] I acted that day,” Burns said.
After newsletter promotion
“No concessions doesn't mean you can't get involved, it doesn't mean you can't give them whatever they might want to alleviate the situation.”
The negotiation training policy has since been updated as well.
The inquest also revealed damning information about how prosecutors and other sworn police officers responded to Moniz in the weeks and months before the attack.
The only gunman shot dead during the siege was charged with aiding and abetting murder and more than 40 counts of sexual and indecent assault and was released on bail in 2014.
Some of the victims' families have expressed disbelief that Monis is being allowed into the community despite facing such serious problems.
Rather than arresting him, police preferred to prosecute sexual assault charges against him through a court appearance notice.
Burns felt this made it more difficult for prosecutors to argue he should be held in custody.
However, the inquest heard that prosecutors had made “inadequate” oral objections to Moniz's bail request, and no written submissions had been made.
The families of the siege victims endured hours of agony and were left in the dark for much of the ordeal.
Burns discovered that they had gathered in a hostage room so close to the cafe that he could hear explosions and gunshots.
“For many hours afterwards, nothing was officially heard and everyone was kept in a large area, allowing us to see the freed hostages reunited with their families,” he said.
“The number of remaining family members dwindled until it became clear that there were no more hostages.”
In the aftermath of the siege, a sea of flowers formed at Martin Place, paying tribute to the traumatized hostages and the two mortally wounded victims.
Ten years later, few places remain that remind us of the December 15 siege.
The cafe is now Dan Murphy's wine cellar, with memorial flowers adorning the central tasting table.
The permanent exhibit is set into the concrete of Martin Place, with small flowers planted on the sidewalk behind a glass frame.
The New South Wales Government will mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy throughout this week with a commemorative display and wreath laying from Tuesday.
