Cafe siege tactics may never be revealed

Some of the tactics used by police during Sydney's Lindt Cafe siege may never be revealed to the public under claims put to the inquest into the tragedy.

Police officers during the Lindt Cafe siege

Some of the tactics used by police during Sydney's Lindt Cafe siege may never be made public. (AAP)

Sensitive information about tactics and surveillance techniques used by police during the deadly Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney may never be made public.

The Commonwealth and the NSW Police have separately made dozens of public interest immunity claims to suppress evidence and limit access to sensitive information in hundreds of pages of documents related to the 2014 siege in Sydney's Martin Place.

The claims, presented at a hearing on Wednesday, cover the so-called "emergency action order whole of plan document" as well as diversionary tactics used by police.

Details about the tactics used by police and other evidence, including calls made to the national security hotline, are to be presented in the next tranche of inquest hearings scheduled to begin on March 21.

The NSW Police had identified 31 categories of claim, covering 292 statements or documents, most of which related to a single word or sentence, the inquest was told on Wednesday.

NSW Police have also moved to suppress details of the so-called "emergency action" plan as well as the diversionary tactics employed by police during the 17-hour ordeal during which gunman Man Haron Monis and hostages Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson were killed.

The documents may be made available to NSW State Coroner Michael Barnes as well as a team of experts from the United Kingdom who are reviewing how the siege unfolded and how it was handled by authorities.

But some of the information, including the emergency action plan, may not be made public or even disclosed to the families of the slain hostages.

Lawyer for the Dawson family, Phillip Boulten SC, told the coroner his clients had some concerns about some of the suppression claims.

"I can tell your honour that the people that I represent are very anxious not to expose to public view matters that could risk public safety or national security," Mr Boulten told the hearing.

"They're very aware of the need to step carefully through this area, but they also have particular interests in the way in which the siege developed and was managed."

A ruling as to what material will be made public is expected on Friday.


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Source: AAP



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