A police negotiation truck could have provided vital resources during the 2014 Lindt cafe siege, but NSW Police Minister Troy Grant has admitted he didn't know until "just recently" that the state doesn't have one.
Negotiators giving evidence in the past weeks at the siege inquest have revealed they initially had to work out of a 4WD and later a CBD leagues club office with just a single phone line because the truck had been out of action because of storm damage since 2011.
Mr Grant said while he played a role in the December 2014 siege, it was as a member of a cabinet committee and not on the ground at the scene.
"I don't have a status report on every bit of equipment that NSW Police Force has in and around NSW," he said on Wednesday, defending his not knowing about the truck being out of action.
The minister said he wasn't aware if police had asked the government to fund a new truck at any time since 2011, but it would be a matter for NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione to decide if or when to get a new one.
"If he makes that ask of government, if that's a need that he can't meet within his budget, then that's a totally appropriate question to ask government and we'll obviously consider it," he told reporters in Sydney.
But Mr Grant would not comment on whether it was wise to wait, rather than purchase a new truck now.
"The greatest lesson I learnt when I was a police officer for 22 years was that government should stay out of running police forces and let the police do it," he said.
Comment has been sought from Mr Scipione.
