NSW Premier promises speedy response to Lindt inquiry’s 44 recommendations
Man Haron Monis, who held 18 people hostage in the Lindt cafe. Photo: AAP
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has spoken with the families of Lindt Cafe siege hostages and says the government will respond to the coroner’s report “in the very near future”.
Coroner Michael Barnes last week handed down 44 recommendations after an 18-month inquiry into the 2014 terrorist attack which claimed the lives of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson.
“I’m anticipating an initial response from government very, very soon and obviously then we’ll have a more detailed response,” Ms Berejiklian said in Sydney on Tuesday.
The premier said the government had been consulting with key agencies about the recommendations which cover everything from better legal protections for frontline police to improving the flow of information between federal and state law enforcement agencies.
In the fallout from the exhaustive probe, the Johnson and Dawson families have spoken out about their anguish and questioned whether senior police in charge of the siege had learned from flaws in the operation.
“Without disclosing anything private, I’ve also taken the time to speak to the families myself,” Ms Berejiklian said on Tuesday.
“That was always my sense of priority because I knew how I felt on the day the coroner was bringing down his recommendations. I can’t imagine what they were going through.”
Mr Johnson’s partner, Thomas Zinn, has questioned whether two senior commanders in charge at the end of the siege should remain in their current roles.
Ms Berejiklian said the focus should remain on public safety.
“That continues to be our priority,” she said.
New Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, who was one of the first commanders to oversee the December, 2014, siege, has conceded police should have launched a pre-emptive rescue earlier.
-AAP