Chief Minister Andrew Barr says he is not concerned about leaks of the findings of a board of inquiry into the handling of the Parliament House rape case and again defended a delay to the release of the report.
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"We will make it public. It's seven months worth of work. We need more than seven hours to consider it," Mr Barr said on Tuesday morning.
The Chief Minister had previously said the findings of the inquiry, which had been led by Walter Sofronoff KC, would be subject to a "proper cabinet process" and he intended to table the report when the Legislative Assembly sat later this month.
"As I indicated, at this very podium in December of last year, we would once we received the report, we would consider it through a cabinet process and then release it," he said on Tuesday.
"Like I said at the time, I expected to be asked every single day from the day we received it until the day we make it public. We will make it public."
The report was handed to Mr Barr on Monday.
Mr Barr indicated he was not concerned by leaks from individuals who might have had adverse findings made against them.
"That's a matter for those individuals, if there are any and if they want to come forward. But I don't think they will," he said.
Acting Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson on Monday had called for the immediate release of the inquiry report.
"For the public to have faith in the system, justice must be impartial and open - not kept secret and only made available to Labor and Greens cabinet ministers," he said.
Mr Barr and Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury announced the inquiry in December, when the latter said the territory government was "deeply concerned" by a series of allegations about the handling of the trial of Mr Lehrmann.
The trial was aborted in October 2022 as a result of juror misconduct and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC, chose not to run the case again out of fears for the health of Brittany Higgins, who accused Mr Lehrmann of rape.
Mr Lehrmann has maintained his innocence.
MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:
Mr Drumgold accused police of being "clearly aligned" with the man who allegedly raped Brittany Higgins after a "very clear campaign" failed to stop him pursuing a sexual assault charge.
Mr Drumgold wrote to the ACT's chief police officer last November, days after the trial of Mr Lehrmann was aborted because of juror misconduct, making several explosive claims.
The letter, released under freedom of information laws, prompted the board of inquiry that examined the conduct of police and prosecutors in the case.
Mr Drumgold has been on leave since appearing at the inquiry in mid-May. This leave was recently extended until the end of August.
The territory's acting Director of Public Prosecutions last month defended the relationship between his office and the police, telling budget estimates media coverage around the issue was "grossly exaggerated".
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
