Last December, Man Haron Monis held 18 people hostage at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney’s Martin Place, and murdered two of them as police stormed the cafe at 2am.

Except he may not have. It now appears clear that hostage Katrina Dawson was killed by a police bullet. Guy Rundle’s piece in Crikey today, Nick Ralston’s article in the Fairfax papers at the weekend, and Rick Feneley’s follow up piece on Monday, raise many urgent questions about the siege.

For the sake of the dead at Martin Place, their families, and ahead of possible similar events in the future, the joint NSW-Commonwealth inquiry into the Martin Place siege, announced by Tony Abbott in the wake of the tragic event, needs to be completely transparent and independent of the police forces involved. Its full findings must be made available to the public.

Anything less is a betrayal, not merely of the Australian public, but of the recent dead, their families, and their right to the truth.