1 00:00:11,542 --> 00:00:15,542 Speaker 1: You're listening to a Mom and mea podcast. Mama Mea 2 00:00:15,622 --> 00:00:19,422 Speaker 1: acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waterers. This podcast 3 00:00:19,622 --> 00:00:30,382 Speaker 1: was recorded on HI True Crime Conversations Listeners. Popping into 4 00:00:30,382 --> 00:00:33,422 Speaker 1: your ears for a second time this week. On Thursday, 5 00:00:33,582 --> 00:00:38,262 Speaker 1: we dropped a conversation with Vicki Petradus commemorating and remembering 6 00:00:38,342 --> 00:00:42,142 Speaker 1: the Link Cafe siege in Sydney in twenty fourteen. Today 7 00:00:42,422 --> 00:00:46,022 Speaker 1: is the actual anniversary of that sixteen hours of terror 8 00:00:46,062 --> 00:00:49,702 Speaker 1: in which two hostages lost their lives. We wanted to 9 00:00:49,782 --> 00:00:52,982 Speaker 1: drop this bonus episode of me recounting my own personal 10 00:00:53,022 --> 00:00:56,382 Speaker 1: experience of that event. I was a radio news reader 11 00:00:56,382 --> 00:00:58,582 Speaker 1: at the time and this is a crime that has 12 00:00:58,622 --> 00:01:04,542 Speaker 1: stayed with me and shaped the journalist I am today. 13 00:01:05,302 --> 00:01:08,422 Speaker 1: Ten years ago today, as the countdown to Christmas and 14 00:01:08,422 --> 00:01:11,862 Speaker 1: the summer holidays was in full swing, a chocolate cafe 15 00:01:12,062 --> 00:01:13,982 Speaker 1: in the heart of Sydney was held hostage by a 16 00:01:14,022 --> 00:01:18,462 Speaker 1: man with a gun for sixteen hours. The Link Cafe 17 00:01:18,502 --> 00:01:22,022 Speaker 1: siege in Martin Place, Sydney in twenty fourteen changed the 18 00:01:22,062 --> 00:01:25,662 Speaker 1: face of our city and thankfully a lot of police 19 00:01:25,702 --> 00:01:29,462 Speaker 1: and government processes and laws in its wake. What happened 20 00:01:29,862 --> 00:01:33,182 Speaker 1: that day and that night isn't just etched into the 21 00:01:33,182 --> 00:01:36,942 Speaker 1: memories of the hostages who survived, it also haunts their 22 00:01:37,022 --> 00:01:40,302 Speaker 1: family members, particularly those of the two victims we lost, 23 00:01:40,462 --> 00:01:44,502 Speaker 1: Tory Johnson and Katrina Dawson. In the years since, we've 24 00:01:44,542 --> 00:01:48,702 Speaker 1: heard from one of the Tactical Operations Unit operatives, Ben Bessant, 25 00:01:48,702 --> 00:01:51,782 Speaker 1: who was actually the man who shot the terrorist dead 26 00:01:52,102 --> 00:01:54,742 Speaker 1: and who legally we've only been able to name. In 27 00:01:54,862 --> 00:01:58,742 Speaker 1: recent weeks, we've also heard from former sniper Mark Davidson, 28 00:01:58,862 --> 00:02:01,462 Speaker 1: who holds a lot of guilt for not shooting earlier, 29 00:02:02,222 --> 00:02:03,982 Speaker 1: because it's a day and a night that continues to 30 00:02:04,022 --> 00:02:07,782 Speaker 1: weigh heavily on them too. No doubt, it also had 31 00:02:07,822 --> 00:02:12,462 Speaker 1: an effect on the dozens of other police, paramedics, negotiators, 32 00:02:12,582 --> 00:02:17,342 Speaker 1: psychologists and journalists who worked alongside and amongst the terror 33 00:02:18,462 --> 00:02:21,702 Speaker 1: I was one of those journalists. I was twenty three 34 00:02:21,942 --> 00:02:25,782 Speaker 1: at the time, a newsreader at two GB, one of 35 00:02:25,822 --> 00:02:28,862 Speaker 1: the biggest radio stations in the country, one of the 36 00:02:28,862 --> 00:02:33,062 Speaker 1: stations that Manharan Monus was relying on for updates while 37 00:02:33,142 --> 00:02:37,782 Speaker 1: keeping his hostages contained. I read the news every hour, 38 00:02:38,222 --> 00:02:41,342 Speaker 1: on the hour, into the early hours of the morning. 39 00:02:41,422 --> 00:02:45,102 Speaker 1: As the siege ended, in that blaze of gunfire and 40 00:02:45,142 --> 00:02:48,822 Speaker 1: the deaths of both Monas and two of his hostages. 41 00:02:49,462 --> 00:02:53,062 Speaker 1: It's been a decade since that night, and I still 42 00:02:53,062 --> 00:02:56,862 Speaker 1: think about it often. In fact, I would say that 43 00:02:56,902 --> 00:03:00,902 Speaker 1: it reshaped the way I report and the way I 44 00:03:01,102 --> 00:03:05,262 Speaker 1: approach breaking news. I can still remember the team of 45 00:03:05,302 --> 00:03:09,982 Speaker 1: producers around me fielding calls from the hostages themselves while 46 00:03:10,102 --> 00:03:14,182 Speaker 1: mon was barking orders in the background. From the start, 47 00:03:14,262 --> 00:03:17,222 Speaker 1: he'd always wanted media attention. To be on the radio 48 00:03:17,262 --> 00:03:20,822 Speaker 1: with the Prime Minister was one of his main requests. 49 00:03:21,542 --> 00:03:24,902 Speaker 1: From the moment that first call came in until just 50 00:03:24,982 --> 00:03:27,502 Speaker 1: after two am in the morning when it finally ended. 51 00:03:28,262 --> 00:03:31,222 Speaker 1: I had a police negotiator by my side as I 52 00:03:31,262 --> 00:03:35,062 Speaker 1: wrote and read out the news. As the night wore 53 00:03:35,102 --> 00:03:38,182 Speaker 1: on and the rest of my colleagues went home for 54 00:03:38,222 --> 00:03:41,982 Speaker 1: the evening, it was just me in the newsroom. I 55 00:03:42,022 --> 00:03:44,742 Speaker 1: had a reporter on the ground in Martin Place, and 56 00:03:44,782 --> 00:03:46,982 Speaker 1: then next door to me, I had a broadcaster and 57 00:03:47,102 --> 00:03:50,622 Speaker 1: a handful of producers in the room, and the negotiator 58 00:03:50,622 --> 00:03:53,262 Speaker 1: would flit between me and the newsroom and then the 59 00:03:53,302 --> 00:03:58,622 Speaker 1: program studios, keeping his ear across everything we did. Every 60 00:03:58,662 --> 00:04:03,342 Speaker 1: time I heard a loud bang or Monas did something threatening. 61 00:04:03,822 --> 00:04:05,462 Speaker 1: I'd be on the phone straight away, trying to make 62 00:04:05,462 --> 00:04:09,022 Speaker 1: sure that my reporter on the scene was okay. Thankfully, 63 00:04:09,182 --> 00:04:10,902 Speaker 1: we didn't have to get as close as the TV 64 00:04:11,062 --> 00:04:16,102 Speaker 1: guys who were within meters of the danger, because it's 65 00:04:16,142 --> 00:04:18,662 Speaker 1: their prerogative to get the shot. That's what TV is. 66 00:04:19,742 --> 00:04:23,462 Speaker 1: The police negotiator would read my scripts, he'd edit them 67 00:04:23,462 --> 00:04:26,142 Speaker 1: where he saw fits, so you know, can you remove this, 68 00:04:26,262 --> 00:04:29,942 Speaker 1: can you add that? And we'd carefully plan out what 69 00:04:30,022 --> 00:04:35,342 Speaker 1: messages we wanted to be heard within the cafe's walls. Later, 70 00:04:35,382 --> 00:04:37,902 Speaker 1: I found out that we were still saying too much. 71 00:04:39,182 --> 00:04:42,782 Speaker 1: We didn't know that inside the cafe earlier in the afternoon, 72 00:04:43,582 --> 00:04:49,142 Speaker 1: Monus only actually knew that three people had escaped. The media, 73 00:04:50,262 --> 00:04:54,342 Speaker 1: as survivor Louisa Hope would later tell, people were reporting 74 00:04:54,422 --> 00:04:57,462 Speaker 1: on the hour, every hour that five people had escaped, 75 00:04:58,742 --> 00:05:02,662 Speaker 1: and so it was their job to calm him. The media, 76 00:05:02,822 --> 00:05:06,742 Speaker 1: myself included, also reported that the cafe was surrounded by 77 00:05:06,862 --> 00:05:11,462 Speaker 1: heavily armed police, and, as Louisa explained, they were so 78 00:05:11,582 --> 00:05:15,662 Speaker 1: thankful that Monus didn't hear that, because who would have 79 00:05:15,702 --> 00:05:18,102 Speaker 1: known what would have happened if he did hear that 80 00:05:20,742 --> 00:05:25,022 Speaker 1: there were many things that shouldn't have happened during that siege. 81 00:05:25,822 --> 00:05:28,742 Speaker 1: The police handling of the event is at the forefront 82 00:05:29,062 --> 00:05:30,862 Speaker 1: of that, and it was at the center of an 83 00:05:30,862 --> 00:05:34,982 Speaker 1: inquest that ultimately handed down forty five recommendations for change. 84 00:05:36,462 --> 00:05:39,542 Speaker 1: Media coverage was a part of that inquiry, with the 85 00:05:39,582 --> 00:05:42,622 Speaker 1: coroner finding that the police needed to seek an agreement 86 00:05:42,742 --> 00:05:45,222 Speaker 1: with news media outlets to help establish a way for 87 00:05:45,302 --> 00:05:50,742 Speaker 1: them to rapidly and confidentially determine whether publishing specific material 88 00:05:50,822 --> 00:05:54,062 Speaker 1: could compromise the response to an ongoing high risk situation, 89 00:05:54,902 --> 00:05:57,702 Speaker 1: and then the media were advised to alert senior police 90 00:05:57,862 --> 00:06:03,822 Speaker 1: before they published such material. But that's easier said than done, 91 00:06:04,382 --> 00:06:09,662 Speaker 1: especially when rolling news coverage of live breaking events reports 92 00:06:09,702 --> 00:06:14,182 Speaker 1: in real time what they're seeing and hearing. The moment 93 00:06:14,182 --> 00:06:17,222 Speaker 1: the siege ended in a shootout is one that will 94 00:06:17,222 --> 00:06:20,182 Speaker 1: stay with me forever. I sat alone in the newsroom 95 00:06:20,222 --> 00:06:24,422 Speaker 1: watching it live on five different TV screens. There was 96 00:06:24,502 --> 00:06:27,582 Speaker 1: no masking the bangs of light and the yells and 97 00:06:27,622 --> 00:06:30,502 Speaker 1: the screams as those final moments played out in living 98 00:06:30,582 --> 00:06:36,462 Speaker 1: rooms across the world. It was some time before we 99 00:06:36,582 --> 00:06:40,062 Speaker 1: learnt of Tory and Katrina's deaths and the several injured. 100 00:06:41,302 --> 00:06:45,182 Speaker 1: I can't speak for individual news organizations or learnings they 101 00:06:45,222 --> 00:06:48,582 Speaker 1: took from their coverage over those sixteen hours, all from 102 00:06:48,662 --> 00:06:53,502 Speaker 1: the coroner's recommendation, but personally it changed the way I work. 103 00:06:54,022 --> 00:06:57,302 Speaker 1: It taught me the power of emission, how it could 104 00:06:57,422 --> 00:07:01,342 Speaker 1: very well be life saving as a young, ambitious radio 105 00:07:01,422 --> 00:07:05,222 Speaker 1: journalist at the time. It taught me to stop thinking 106 00:07:05,302 --> 00:07:09,382 Speaker 1: as a journalist and start thinking through the eyes of 107 00:07:09,422 --> 00:07:14,022 Speaker 1: the victims, myself in their shoes, and maintain that lens 108 00:07:14,022 --> 00:07:17,382 Speaker 1: in everything I report. That's a rule I have tried 109 00:07:17,422 --> 00:07:21,542 Speaker 1: to live by for the last ten years. Is this 110 00:07:21,662 --> 00:07:25,182 Speaker 1: in the public's interest to know? Will that detail or 111 00:07:25,302 --> 00:07:28,502 Speaker 1: that particular story do more harm than good to those 112 00:07:28,542 --> 00:07:32,062 Speaker 1: affected by it? How can I tell this story without 113 00:07:32,142 --> 00:07:37,902 Speaker 1: sensationalizing it or retraumatizing the victims. I feel guilty for 114 00:07:38,142 --> 00:07:41,222 Speaker 1: my part in reporting on news that could very well 115 00:07:41,302 --> 00:07:44,262 Speaker 1: have put hostages lives in danger. It was a really 116 00:07:44,382 --> 00:07:48,022 Speaker 1: sobering realization for me, as someone just starting out their career, 117 00:07:48,582 --> 00:07:52,422 Speaker 1: of how powerful the media's role can be. It taught 118 00:07:52,462 --> 00:07:56,542 Speaker 1: me to question always, even with a police negotiator by 119 00:07:56,582 --> 00:08:00,702 Speaker 1: my side, even if everyone else is running with something. 120 00:08:01,502 --> 00:08:04,222 Speaker 1: It's a realization that has made me a better journalist. 121 00:08:04,982 --> 00:08:09,022 Speaker 1: It's a lesson that has kept me focused on what's important, 122 00:08:09,942 --> 00:08:15,302 Speaker 1: the people at the center of the story. Thanks so 123 00:08:15,382 --> 00:08:17,542 Speaker 1: much for listening. We'll be back next week with a 124 00:08:17,542 --> 00:08:23,062 Speaker 1: conversation about the baby doll serial killer in the US.