Readers may recall that I was pleasantly surprised to see Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury appoint a highly competent, well-respected jurist to head up the government’s quick inquiry into the Bruce Lehrmann/Brittany Higgins saga, instead of finding some government hack to do it.

Now it seems, having got the report, the ACT Government won’t release it. I wonder why. Didn’t it say what they wanted to hear?

I am patron of the ACT Victims of Crime Assistance League (VOCAL), which looks after victims who don’t qualify for the government Victims Support Scheme and who otherwise would fall through the cracks. VOCAL was set up in 1989, but has not had any government funding since 2011. I had the pleasure, along with the two fulltime volunteers who run VOCAL, of appearing at a special hearing before Mr Sofronoff to tell him about VOCAL and to offer whatever assistance we could.

Mr Sofronoff asked VOCAL to supply him with all the information about itself that it could. He was then going to contact the ACT Government and get their views. VOCAL believes it is of crucial importance to ensure all victims of crime are given the support they need. As a result of the Government now hiding the report, we may never know what, if anything, Mr Sofronoff recommended on that issue.

I make the above point to illustrate how forensic, thorough, lateral-thinking and decent Mr Sofronoff and his staff were, and the need for the ACT Government to release the report in its entirety so it can address the many systemic and individual weaknesses uncovered by the inquiry. 

The relationship between the AFP and the DPP cannot be left as it is. There is little trust left as a result of this saga. If individuals have to be sacked as a result of this saga, then so be it.

Mr Sofronoff handed down a damning report into the failed DNA testing in Queensland, and within two days the Queensland Labor government accepted all 123 recommendations and announced $95 million funding to fix the problem. The report was very embarrassing for Annastacia Palaszczuk, but she took it on the chin and fixed the problem. 

I’d say this to Messrs Barr and Rattenbury: rather than hiding it, release the whole report, warts and all. If you need to sack a few people, do so – and take on board the steps recommended to fix the problem. 

If you do, you will probably come out smelling of roses. An independent coroner’s report into a sad death in custody at the Quamby Youth Detention Centre in 1996 allowed me as the responsible minister to get rid of five pretty ordinary custodial staff named by the coroner; seven others resigned as well, fearing the coroner would name them, too. It enabled Quamby to lift its game for the benefit of everyone – detainees and staff. 

Don’t be afraid of the report, Shane and Andrew. Welcome it for the improvements you will be able to make to our criminal justice system as a result.