Parole failure with Melbourne siege terrorist on agenda

Tightening the parole system will be high on the agenda at a meeting of Australia's Prime Minister and state premiers on Friday after the Melbourne terrorist siege.

Gunman Yacqub Khayre was on parole when he shot dead a clerk in an apartment block and was later killed in a shootout with police last night.

Khayre had served jail time over a violent burglary in 2012 and had been on parole for arson since November.

He spent 16 months on remand before being acquitted of the 2009 Holsworthy army barracks terror plot in Sydney.

Malcolm Turnbull, who will convene the Council of Australian Governments in Hobart, said the issue of parole was a high priority.

"There have been too many cases of people on parole committing violent offences of this kind," the Prime Minister told reporters in Canberra today.

He questioned why Khayre was released on parole, given his extensive criminal history and links with terror.

"I have raised these today with the Victorian Premier, whom I called last night and I called again this morning," Turnbull said.

"How was this man on parole? He had a long record of violence. A very long record of violence. He had been charged with a terrorist offence some years ago and had been acquitted."

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the gunman had not only been eligible for parole and received it but had complied with all its terms and conditions, including drug testing and a curfew.

"We'll look at that very closely, of course, and if there are any changes in any element of this act - which we're considering as an act of terror - then we stand ready to make them," Andrews said of changes to parole.

He noted Khayre had been acquitted of the NSW charges.

Parole in Victoria was overhauled after the 2012 murder of Jill Meagher, leading to a drop in parolees committing serious crimes from 60 in 2013/14 to 13 in 2015/16. Nationally, there are about 12,000 offenders on parole at any one time.

Yacqub Khayre. Photo / AAP file

- AAP