And yet we had a situation this week where statistical data was wheeled out and paraded by health authorities, only for us to learn other important information had been withheld on the dubious justification of "privacy".

"We have a policy of [not] publicly notifying sites of potential exposure where it is a private event," Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said.

"Given it's not a public site, it's not a public exposure risk."

It's a curious statement, given 150 members of the public were apparently exposed to the risk of contracting the virus at this "private" event. Many then went home, into schools and the wider community, and ACT Health has confirmed 33 cases connected to the event, including instances of onward transmission.

On Thursday, we learnt there had been several parties in the Wanniassa area on the night in question, casting an even bigger question mark over how many members of the public had potentially been put at risk. As the minister herself stated, "It appears from what I'm hearing that there has been some confusion in the community and there have been some allegations that it was one event when it was actually a different event that we're talking about here."

How many parties? Where? We don't know yet, because the government won't tell us. Had it not been for the work of Canberra Times journalists, it's unknown when or even if the public would have been informed at all.

It should not surprise the minister, who expressed concern about speculation and assumption running hot. A vacuum of detail around an issue of intense public interest, left empty, will always be filled by rumour and speculation.

Contact tracers have done an admirable job throughout the pandemic here in Canberra, and no doubt have done an excellent job in this instance chasing down close and secondary contacts. But they can only work with the information available to them, not all of which will be comprehensive and accurate.

Has every single person at every one of those gatherings been upfront about their movements on that night? It is quite conceivable someone potentially exposed to COVID might be unaware until hearing of it through the media.

The government's constant refusal to be upfront with the community on the grounds that privacy may be breached is not only disappointing, it simply doesn't stack up in most cases. It's a simple task to share important information about matters of public importance while deidentifying the less important specifics.

It also makes a mockery of the promise the government made to be transparent about COVID-19 cases and outbreaks when it announced a winding down of daily press conferences.

The best way to build trust and confidence with voters is to take them into your confidence and to be open and upfront with them.

The ACT government experienced this first-hand, gaining plaudits for its calm, factual daily updates during the height of lockdown.

With limits easing further from today, and large gatherings likely to become more common than at any time since the outbreak began, it would be a shame if the government had failed to learn the lesson in building trust and instead reverted to a default of withholding information on the basis that someone, somewhere, might prefer not to see it made public.