The Federal Opposition says the government has questions to answer over why a letter written by Sydney gunman Man Haron Monis didn't raise a red flag.
Attorney-General George Brandis has played down the significance of the letter, received two months before the Lindt cafe siege.
In it, Monis asked whether it was legal to contact Islamic State extremists,
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has questioned why the correspondence was treated as a routine matter, and didn't raise any concerns with security authorities.
Labor says the Attorney-General should have referred a letter from Man Haron Monis to intelligence agencies when it was received by his office last October.
Monis wrote to George Brandis asking if it would be legal to contact the head of Islamic State.
In December, Monis took 18 hostages in the Sydney CBD and two people were killed.
Senator Brandis has told a Senate Committee, Department staff did not consider the letter threatening, despite it being received weeks after Australia's terror threat level was raised to high.
"Haron wrote to me at my Parliament House address. Attorney-General George Brandis, I would like to send a letter to Caliph Ibrahim, the leader of the Islamic State, in which making some comments and asking some questions. Please advise me whether the communication is legal or illegal. Thank you, Haron." And I didn't reply to it. It was replied to by the officer of the department because it was classified as routine correspondence."
Senator Brandis says there is no reason to believe that any member of the Attorney-General's department staff would have known that Monis was a person of concern at that particular time.
But Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Monis was known to authorities and the letter should have prompted further investigation.
"I think Australians believe that the Attorney-General has questions to answer. How was it that two months before the dreadful siege and the terrible crimes that were committed there, the Attorney-General says that this criminal who contacted them - contacted him directly - should just say that that was a routine matter. I think there are questions to answer here, why this was treated as a routine matter."
The hearing has been told the department responded to Monis's letter, pointing out Islamic State was listed as a terrorist organisation.
The letter said the department did not provide legal advice to members of the public and couldn't address Monis' specific question about the legality of corresponding with Caliph Ibrahim, the Islamic State leader.
Senator Brandis says there was no indication in the letter that Monis posed a threat to the community.
"I'm bound to say the tone of the letter is not obviously threatening, nor does the letter apparently contain any endorsement of, or indication of, favourability towards Islamic State it merely in a neutral tone asks a question about whether to communicate with this individual by making comments and asking questions is legal or illegal."
Labor says any letter from a man on bail for serious violence offences, who had been in litigation with the Commonwealth in the High Court, asking about communication with the head of ISIL should not have been treated as routine.
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