Sydney siege survivors speak on TV

Fourteen of 16 survivors of the Sydney siege told of the drama and fear which gripped them during the 16 hours they were held as hostages by a gunman at a local cafe.

They spoke on rival television network programs -- aired at the same time on Sunday night after being paid to tell their stories -- and revealed what actually happened after shotgun wielding Man Haron Monis took them hostage in the Lindt cafe in the city's CBD on Dec. 15 last year.

The gunman told them he also had a bomb in his backpack. No bomb existed -- but police and hostages didn't know that until after they shot him dead shortly after 2 a.m. on Dec. 16.

Most spoke of harrowing events and terrifying incidents, but one hostage, Marcia Mikhael, questioned the police tactics and the refusal of authorities to negotiate via telephone with Monis during the siege.

The Westpac bank executive told the Seven Network that she hung up on a policeman after Monis ordered her to call and demand Prime Minister Tony Abbott speak to him.

She and other hostages -- 11 of whom managed to escape at different stages of the siege -- said on camera they believed they were going to be killed, and couldn't understand why police were not negotiating with Monis.

"I actually lost it when someone (police) told me the prime minister was a very busy man and he can't come to the phone," Mikhael told the Seven Network.

"I yelled at him and I just couldn't believe it... I think I actually said that 'I don't care what (Abbott) is doing right now, whether he's walking his dog or he's you know playing golf with his mates, I'm sure there's nothing more important happening in Australia right now than this, and the lives of the people in this cafe.'"

"And then I hung up."

"It was then that I knew that there was not going to be any negotiation and we were just left there. No-one was coming for us, I knew that. They weren't going to come. So that's when I lost hope," she added.

Mikhael also stated she believed the army should have been in charge of handling the siege.

She was grateful she was alive and did not criticize the officers involved, but instead the tactical management of them.

Two other hostages -- Lindt cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34, and Katrina Dawson -- died in the siege.

Two of the hostages described how Monis forced Johnson to his knees after another group of hostages escaped just before the siege ended.

He soon shot Johnson at point-blank range in the back of his head. The police quickly stormed the cafe, and mother-of-three Dawson, 38, died from a police bullet, believed to have ricocheted before it struck her in the heart.

Mikhael maintained it was good luck, not good management, which saw her survive. She was hit in both legs by fragments of police bullets.

Other hostages were similarly injured during the final raid.

One hostage, cafe employee Jarrod Hoffman, 19, said he and fellow employee Joel Herat, 21, considered trying to overpower Monis to end the siege.

Hoffman told the Nine Network's 60 Minutes program that he had a razor-sharp Stanley knife in his pocket from cutting up boxes earlier in the morning.

"I gave him (Herat) a Stanley knife ... just in case," Hoffman said.

Hoffman said at one point Monis was sitting below him on a lounge.

"I thought, 'Do I stab him? What if I miss? What are the consequences of that?'"

"Someone would need to jump, hold his arms down and stab him in the jugular... but he had his gun."

"He had it on his knee and I could see that it was pointed directly at (fellow hostage and cafe worker) Julie Taylor's back."

Other hostages explained how they escaped, including two who slipped out without Monis noticing.

The two programs aired directly against each other, but had different production styles besides the actual interviews.

Channel Seven's news offices were directly opposite the Lindt cafe.

One of its news cameraman was allowed to film the entire siege next to a police sniper, capturing extensive footage such as hostages being forced to stand in windows.

The real-life footage was matched with descriptions from the six hostages it interviewed, including escapes.

Most of this footage was aired for the first time on Sunday night. It also showed Monis using hostages as human shields while threatening them with his short-barreled shotgun.

The footage was also being sent live to the nearby police command center.

Authorities have said all questions raised about the handling of the siege -- including those raised in Sunday night's broadcasts -- will be covered at an extensive coronial inquest. Endi