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ADF experts urged to testify at inquest

The counsel assisting the Lindt Cafe inquest says there's no evidence NSW Police were warned by experts that they were not capable of handling the siege.

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Source: AAP


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Unnamed Australian Defence Force experts who claimed NSW Police were warned they did not have the capability to handle the Lindt Cafe siege have been asked to come forward and give evidence to the inquest.

There has been "ongoing and simmering debate" about why the army wasn't called in to deal with the December 2014 siege, counsel assisting the inquest Jeremy Gormley SC said on Friday.

"Some argue that the ADF experience in various theatres of armed conflict would have made it better able to manage the conflict than a domestic entity such as a police force," he said.

"It is sometimes said that the more offensive approach of military forces rather than the protective or defensive approach of police would better suit a terrorist disturbance."

He also said unnamed experts cited in News Limited publications this year expressed concerns about police use of M4 assault weapons and bullets more suited to open warfare, as well as a lack of co-operation with the police Tactical Operation Unit.

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He said there was also "no evidence" that NSW Police had been warned about their lack of capability to manage the siege.

"Underpinning all of these assertions appear to be the contention that the ADF would have handled the siege better than the NSW Police," Mr Gormley said.

"For such a proposition to be made good, if it is correct, evidence is required."

He said material that supported the contentions made by those unnamed persons would be relevant to the inquest, and urged those people to come forward within two weeks.


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