Even before it had begun hearing evidence, the potential for the public inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann's trial to damage reputations was obvious.
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"That's because the truth sometimes hurts, and sometimes the truth is hidden so that it doesn't cause hurt," chairman Walter Sofronoff KC said.
"To the extent that damage to reputation is unavoidable, then it has to be lived with.
"But the inquiry is trying to ensure that nobody is harmed unnecessarily."
The highly respected jurist dubbed this "the sensitive approach", and asked journalists to adopt it too.
Mr Sofronoff was right to pursue this lofty goal given what would follow.
The truth did hurt, with Mr Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins, the fellow former Liberal Party staffer he has always denied raping, forced to re-live the abandoned criminal case as Mr Sofronoff scrutinised the actions of prosecutors, police and the ACT's Victims of Crime Commissioner.
There was also enormous strain on those people, none more so than Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC, who unquestionably came away from the inquiry in the worst shape of anyone.
Mr Sofronoff ultimately found the territory's top prosecutor had, among other things, knowingly lied to Chief Justice Lucy McCallum and "preyed on" the inexperience of a junior solicitor by having him "deliberately advance" a false claim that police documents sought by defence lawyers were privileged.
One might argue that, with findings such as these, the inquiry owed Mr Drumgold nothing.
However, "the sensitive approach" Mr Sofronoff outlined at the outset surely did not involve Mr Drumgold, or anyone else the subject of such damning findings, learning about them as he did.
While the inquiry notified parties of potential adverse findings some time ago, Mr Drumgold claims to have first heard of the final report's contents via news stories based on leaked copies of the document.
The Australian, which published the initial article containing the reported findings, claims it did not breach an embargo and has refused to reveal the source of the leak.
However, the ACT government says the board of inquiry, led by Mr Sofronoff, has confirmed it provided copies of the chairman's report to "select media outlets" under embargo.
BOARD OF INQUIRY NEWS:
This occurred without the government's authorisation or knowledge.
Now, with the official release brought forward but still several days away, those named in the report are forced to endure stories based on potentially incomplete pictures.
Because only a few journalists have the full 600-page report, there are undoubtedly findings that are yet to be reported and which remain unknown to the public and to those who were the subject of the inquiry.
"The release of information about the inquiry outside of the government procedures has affected the inquiry process and harmed people involved," a spokeswoman for Chief Minister Andrew Barr said on Thursday.
"It further contributes to the ongoing public discussion of the matter that has been very difficult for all of the individuals impacted."
This is a sensible statement.
The truth of what is in the report inevitably hurts. The way it came out did not have to.
