- Tony Abbott says there are lessons to be learned from the deadly siege
- The standoff ended in the death of the gunman and two hostages
- People pay tribute to the victims at a makeshift memorial in Sydney
(CNN) -- The gunman behind the deadly siege of a cafe in Sydney this week was not on a security watch list, and Australia's Prime Minister wants to know why.
Tony Abbott told AM, a radio program of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, that the system fell short.
"There's no doubt about that, and this is why we've got to constantly learn the lessons of everything that happens. We've got to be constantly asking ourselves: Is this the best we can do?
"And frankly, we've got to always be better at this because if we aren't good at this, our people suffer. And the tragedy of this atrocity is that two delightful Australians, two very decent people, are dead. Others are injured. Others are traumatized because of a madman who was roaming our streets," the Prime Minister said Wednesday.
An injured hostage is carried to an ambulance from a cafe in Sydney on Tuesday, December 16. Gunfire erupted early Tuesday as police stormed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe, where a gunman had been holding hostages since Monday morning. 
Hostages run toward police officers on December 16. 
A police officer and a paramedic escort a hostage away from the scene of the siege on December 16. 
An injured hostage is wheeled to an ambulance after shots were fired during the raid on the cafe. 
Two armed police officers stand ready to enter the cafe on December 16. 
A hostage stands by the front entrance of the cafe as she turns off the lights on Monday, December 15. 
A hostage runs toward police on December 15. She was one of five people seen fleeing the cafe. 
Police gather near the cafe on December 15. 
Hostages behind the cafe's window hold up a black flag with Arabic script on December 15. 
A police officer listens to a radio on December 15. 
Two hostages make it to safety outside the cafe on December 15. 
A police sniper walks to his vehicle on December 15. 
A journalist reports on the situation in Sydney. 
Armed police are seen outside the cafe on December 15. 
People rush past armed police near the cafe on December 15. 
Police close a street near the scene on December 15. 
Police officers talk at the scene on December 15. 
Armed police patrol near the Sydney Opera House. Major landmarks in Sydney were evacuated as police responded to the hostage situation. 
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Photos: Hostage situation in Sydney 
Australian Ambassador reacts to the Sydney siege 
Sydney victim 'shielded pregnant friend' 
Cameraman describes Sydney siege Authorities have identified the gunman as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian-born refugee who was granted political asylum in Australia.
He seized control of the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in the heart of Sydney's central business district and held it for some 16 hours.
The siege ended when police stormed the cafe early Tuesday. The gunman was killed, but so were two hostages -- Katrina Dawson, a 38-year-old barrister and mother of three, and Tori Johnson, the manager of the cafe.
Monis was on bail for violence criminal offenses at the time of the attack. He had a long history of mental illness and violence, the Prime Minister said.
"This was the act of someone who was way beyond any mainstream, any mainstream, and has been rightly, absolutely repudiated by all the communities of Australia," Abbott told the AM program. "We want to know why he wasn't being monitored, given his history of violence, his history of mental instability, and his history of infatuation with extremism."
As authorities work to find the answer to that, and other unanswered questions, a makeshift memorial has sprung up in Sydney as people come to pay tribute to the victims. Thousands of people have left flowers, cards and signed condolence books.
"We're a country that is not innocent of these issues," Kim Beazley, Australian ambassador to the United States, told CNN's "The Lead With Jake Tapper," on Wednesday.
"We are well-prepared in many ways, but we weren't well-prepared enough for this particular man, in this particular place, and that will require investigation," he said.
CNN's Anna Coren and Jethro Mullen also contributed to this report.
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