The officer in charge of tactics during the Sydney siege never tendered crucial notes he took during the stand-off, an inquest has heard.
It has also been revealed that as negotiators attempted to resolve the situation inside the Lindt Cafe, their boss was simultaneously overseeing other high-risk incidents around the state, including taking calls about a machete-wielding man just as the siege was coming to its frantic and deadly conclusion.
The inquest into the December 2014 siege in Sydney's Martin Place was on Tuesday told that notes of the incident taken down by the tactical adviser during the standoff - who was playing a vital role in helping commanders decide on what strategy to employ - have never been seen by the parties assisting the inquiry, or even by other police.
"It transpires that tactical adviser has indicated that he has some notes that he took during the course of the exercise, that those notes have never been provided to anybody," counsel assisting the coroner Jeremy Gormly SC said on Tuesday.
It's understood the notes have now been retrieved.
They will now been examined in "urgency", Mr Gormly said, before they are given to relevant parties, including counsel representing the families of slain hostages Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson.
The development came as the inquiry on Tuesday continued to examine the actions taken by police negotiators, revealing the chief police negotiator for NSW was actively engaged in at least four other incidents even as gunman Man Haron Monis was holding 18 hostages inside the Lindt Cafe.
The detective chief inspector, identified by the codename "Graeme", has previously told the inquest that he began work at 5am on the day of the siege, and worked through until 2pm the following day.
"Was it the case that there was no one else in the entire NSW Police Force who could deal with these issues other than you?" counsel assisting the inquest Jeremy Gormly SC asked the officer on Tuesday.
Graeme: "That's the case, that's the protocols."
Mr Gormly: "Contain and negotiate is the principal working strategy of the NSW police and in the midst of the largest siege event in NSW history, you're dealing with three or four other negotiations in the middle of the night. Is that right?"
Graeme: "Yes."
The inquest has already painted a picture of an overworked negotiation unit, which despite dealing with highly stressful and dangerous situations, at the time of the siege consisted of just two full-time employees including Graeme, and another negotiator identified at the inquiry as "Reg".
As the siege continued on December 15, at about 10.12pm, Graeme was dealing with an attempted armed robbery.
Later, at about 1am, he became engaged in an incident on the mid-north coast involving a man wielding a machete, which was not resolved until after police entered the Lindt Cafe.
The inquest has also heard that a purpose-built negotiation truck had been out of action since 2011.
"I don't anticipate that you're going to criticise the NSW police terribly much chief inspector, but correct if me if I'm wrong; one rather has the impression that the negotiation side of things doesn't get the same support as other areas of police activity. Would that be a fair comment?" Mr Gormly asked Graeme on Tuesday.
Graeme: "I think we do what we can with the available resources, finances, we do what we can."
Mr Gormly: "But there's only you, a truck in the garage and Reg. Is that right?"
Graeme: "Yes."
The inquest continues.
Share
