Summary
Miller’s evidence is finished. An appearance from Michael Klooster, also a barrister for Monis during family law proceedings in 2013, has been rescheduled.
The inquest is adjourned for the day. Here’s what we learned:
- Monis would cover his mouth when talking to his solicitor Olivia Wilkins – even when alone together in a room with the door closed. He was apparently worried unnamed people were listening to his conversations and could lip read.
- Sylvia Martin, a family consultant, provided insight into the changing relationship between Monis and his former partner. From 2007, Monis was apparently “more strict” and began restricting his children’s social interactions to other Muslim children.
- Martin had a strong impression Monis was attempting to manipulate her impression of his children’s mother, but was also careful not to make such manipulations obvious.
- Her image of him was of someone “who needed to feel important ... who needs to be admired, who needs to be seen in a certain way” and “a hero in his own story”.
- In her statement there was a vague implication Monis’s former partner believed he wanted to become a “martyr” for his Islamic faith – but a follow-up interview with Monis did not accord.
- Two references were made to Monis wearing a cream-coloured suit with vertical black stripes. Martin described it as “outstanding” while Monis’s former solicitor David Cohen compared it to the kind in a 1930s gangster movie.
- In 2013 Monis sent a bunch of red roses to the female solicitor of the parents of his former partner, which was deemed inappropriate.
I’m wrapping this blog up. Later you can listen to the latest episode of our daily podcast on the coronial inquest, also featuring my colleague Michael Safi. Stream the episode from Thursday here. The episodes are also available in the iTunes library here.
Updated
Cohen has been excused and John Miller has taken to the stand. Miller was a solicitor for Monis from the end of August 2013 until the gunman’s death in December 2014.
During the ten or so times he came to his office, Monis generally wore sports trousers and a pullover. “On one occasion he came in a robe and one occasion he was wearing a suit,” Miller added.
In his statement Miller’s perception of Monis was “a man of deep religious beliefs”, partly because in his affidavit Monis had written at the top: “in the name of God”.
In another instance he said to Miller that God made the ultimate judgements. When Miller replied he must comply with whatever the courts determined, Monis seemed to understand and did not voice any objection.
Updated
Cohen was questioned about a 2013 incident, in the final month of his employment, when Monis sent a bunch of red roses to the female solicitor of the parents of his former partner.
The lawyers complained to Cohen, which was when he first learned of the matter.
When asked by Cohen why he had sent them, Monis apparently replied: “I believe they’ve done me a favour.”
Updated
Cohen described Monis as “very controlled” in his behaviour and “very polite”.
There was just one instance, for three minutes, when he became “a menace” and showed a different side to himself. “His voice became harsher,” said Cohen.
Jeremy Gormly, SC asked Cohen if he thought Monis was articulate.
Very.
And his intellectual ability?
He wasn’t Mensa material but he wasn’t dumb either. He was highly manipulative and he knew the system. He also researched things.
Another mention was made about Monis’s distinct sense of fashion.
He often came in with a creamy coloured suit with pinstripes, like a 1930s gangster movie. He was quite an unusual man.
Updated
Martin has now been excused and David Cohen has taken to the stand. Monis enlisted Cohen from June 2012 until August 2013.
Cohen described Monis as “quietly spoken, reserved and very firm in his own opinion and knew better than the lawyer that he was seeking assistance from, in particular how to run his [case].”
Updated
Martin was asked how Monis responded to this accusation he wanted to be a martyr.
He said he was not an extremist and not a martyr. He was a defender of human rights, that was the short of it.
Jeremy Gormly, SC asked Martin if she gathered any impression he intended to become a martyr?
No, not at all. I got the impression of a man who sought attention, was attention-seeking, quite narcissistic, it was about self-importance. And whatever else was going on it was not about being a martyr. He certainly did not present himself in this way.
Updated
The coroner has asked Martin about a key line in her statement that vaguely implied Monis’s former partner believed he wanted to become a “martyr” for his Islamic faith.
Her notes of the interview taken at the time stated, precisely:
Doing it for Islam want become martyr
The comment was made by Monis’s former partner during an interview with Martin and in context of her “talking about his extremist beliefs” and “what he has been involved with in the past”.
“She did not want the [children] growing up with such beliefs,” said Martin.
Martin conducted a second interview with Monis where he shared views on a perceived Western media bias against Middle Eastern countries.
He described his offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers as “consolation letters”. And though the media believed he was against Australia he in fact “loved Australia” and thought the country shouldn’t be involved in the war.
Monis told Martin his former partner was “proud” of him for the stand he had taken. He denied an allegation that had been made he was a friend of Osama Bin Laden. Martin then quoted Monis, who had said:
History shows I’m against extremism in Iran.
Martin described Monis as having a “certain earnestness” in the way he was presenting things. And said he was:
A complicated man who exhibited signs of narcissism and grandiosity and a capacity to be manipulative.
Monis claimed to have secretly photographed bruising on his children, to support his allegation their mother had carried out corporeal punishment.
Updated
Martin continued to discuss her interview with Monis’s former partner.
When she first met him she described him as quite Westernised with no issues for the first couple of years.
This began to change around 2007 when Monis apparently became “more strict”, demanded his partner wear a veil, attempted to restrict dancing and singing in the home, and restricted their children to playing only with other Muslim children.
He seemed to have spent a lot of time away from their home, and this made Martin question the nature of their relationship.
Monis’s former partner became even more alarmed in 2009 when the federal police raided their home. It was at this point she became aware of Monis’s true age and his other aliases.
Martin said she also accused Monis of practising corporeal punishment on their children.
Updated
Martin said in her first interview with Monis he “focussed on what he saw to be as the mother’s failings in her parenting”.
He also talked about his letters to politicians, his belief that Australia should not be at war and that the government had told him “some of these words were offensive”.
Monis wanted his children to live with him, “notwithstanding a comment that he made that children are normally better living with the mother,” said Martin.
Martin had a strong impression that Monis was attempting to manipulate her impression of the children’s mother, but was being careful not to make this manipulation obvious.
Her image of him was of someone “who needed to feel important ... who needs to be admired, who needs to be seen in a certain way” and as:
A hero in his own story, particularly in his story of coming to Australia, his views and how he presented himself ... as a principled person.
Updated
Wilkins has been excused and now Sylvia Martin, an experienced social worker and family consultant at the family court has taken the stand.
Martin saw Monis and his ex-partner, the mother of his children, in 2012.
These interviews commenced in February 2012, and Jeremy Gormly, SC asked Martin how Monis presented:
He was in the waiting room and I noticed his suit. His suit was startling. It was a cream coloured suit with vertical black stripes. It was outstanding.
When I first saw him he was also busy on his mobile phone. The children had seen him when they came in and one of them was sitting next to him and the other was standing by his mother, and waved to the other side quite surreptitiously.
Martin described Monis as clean shaven and “well-spoken, articulate”.
Updated
On 5 June, 2012, Wilkins became frustrated when Monis wanted to look at subpoenaed material that only legal representatives were allowed access to. Their relationship deteriorated that afternoon.
Monis said Wilkins had never been his lawyer, despite the fact she had been acting on his behalf for several months at this point, and requested her father (also a lawyer) to represent him.
When Wilkins’s father refused, Monis terminated his relationship to their firm.
Wilkins added that Monis would often cover his mouth when talking, both in court and when they were alone in a room with the door closed. This made it difficult to understand what he was saying.
She said:
He thought people could lip read. He said people could hear what he was saying.
Wilkins described him as “paranoid”.
He seemed to be playing the game … in the sense that the other side had raised issues about his life in the public eye, and his views and the letter writing. But whenever I came across him he was always dressed in Western clothing and he wanted to downplay those things as it might affect his … outcome.
Updated
There will be considerable restrictions on what we can report on today as we cannot reveal the identities of some of these figures discussed in Monis’s life.
Olivia Wilkins, a solicitor for Monis during family law proceedings in July 2011, is the first to be called to the stand.
Monis came to Wilkins in relation to submitting documents to seek legal aid, which he was eventually granted. He was dressed in Western clothes at the time, and had no facial hair.
Junior counsel assisting, Sophie Callan asked about her impressions of Monis. Wilkins said:
He was very passive. He wasn’t aggressive in any way.
Updated
Today’s witnesses
Here are the witnesses for this morning. The evidence will continue until about lunch time. We will hear from:
Olivia Wilkins, a solicitor for Monis during July 2011.
Sylvia Martin, a social worker and family consultant who saw Monis in April 2012.
David Cohen and John Miller were both solicitors for Monis n 2013.
Michael Klooster was a barrister for Monis in 2013.
Updated
Good morning and welcome to the second week and day six of the resumed coronial inquest into the deaths of Sydney siege hostages Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson and gunman Man Haron Monis.
On Friday the inquest heard from Monis’s former lawyer, Nazir Daawar. He said he would have urged police to shoot Monis in the head with “no negotiation” if he knew the former refugee was the one holding 18 people hostage in the Sydney siege.
Today we will continue to hear from former solicitors of Monis.
Also, the excellent 10 minute podcast my colleagues Bridie Jabour and Michael Safi have been recording at the end of each day is available on iTunes. You can stream the latest episode here and all four are in the iTunes library here.
Updated
