PEOPLE who helped uncover entrenched police corruption in Queensland over two decades ago could be in danger after information about them was accidentally made public.
The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) is reviewing how a clerical error led to the public release of secret files from the 1987-89 Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption.
That inquiry led to the fall of the state government and jailing of three former ministers and a police commissioner.
The CMC accidentally released dozens of the files about it, more than a year ago, through the Queensland State Archives.
The files reportedly include details about murder suspects, secret informants, undercover agents, drug operations and police corruption.
They also contain unsubstantiated allegations of corruption, rigged trials, drug-smuggling and murders involving senior figures in business, the police, the judiciary and the underworld.
The documents were meant to remain secret until 2055, when most of the people involved in the inquiry would have died.
The CMC only found out about the leak last week.
Journalist Matthew Condon, who recently wrote a book about the inquiry, says there are people "who would genuinely lose sleep over it".
But CMC chairman Ross Martin wouldn't say if anyone was in danger because of the bungle.
"We'll look at it, see what's happened and try to find the answer," he told reporters.
Mr Martin said a CMC review would find out "what was hypothetically made available, who has had an opportunity to see it, and whether from that a hypothetical risk has become real".
"Whether anybody has actually looked at it that might be a villain for example," he added
The CMC boss hopes to quickly find out who has viewed the files at the archives, which record who accesses the documents it holds.
Mr Martin denied there was a systemic problem with how the CMC handled sensitive documents and said no other investigations had been compromised.
"This is a clerical error in circumstances where the consequences are most unfortunate," he said.
"The nature of this issue is limited to the archivist and to the material that's come to light now.
"This is the only case of which we're aware such a thing has occurred."
Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie is calling for the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee (PCMC) to look into the leak and plans to meet Mr Martin as soon as possible.
The PCMC, which has oversight of the CMC, is expecting a report from the watchdog later this week.
The PCMC later announced that the leak and possible consequences would be investigated and an independent parliamentary report released.
PCMC chair Liz Cunningham said the committee was aware of "potential implications" of the release of the documents.
"The committee is also acutely aware of the sensitivity of information provided by protected witnesses during the Fitzgerald Inquiry," she said in a statement late on Wednesday.
"The committee has requested that the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Commissioner, an independent officer of the parliament, investigate and report back to the committee in relation to a broad range of emergent issues regarding this matter."
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