Two staff members of a Sydney cafe have revealed how they plotted to stab a gunman who held them hostage during a 16-hour siege in December.

A hostage who died during the Sydney cafe siege was killed by fragments of a police bullet as armed officers moved to end the 16-hour stand-off, an inquest has been told.

Australia’s prime minister has questioned why someone with such a “long and chequered history” as Sydney siege gunman Man Horan Monis was at large in the community.

An Australian TV newsreader broke down in tears during a live broadcast when she realised her connection to one of the victims of yesterday's siege at a Sydney cafe.

Three people have died after a siege in a Sydney cafe came to a dramatic end yesterday when armed police stormed the building.