TWO Queensland authorities were warned but failed to ban public access to confidential Fitzgerald inquiry documents which could have led to "mischief and danger" in the wrong hands, it's been revealed.
A public hearing is under way into how the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) publicly released 741 documents and shredded at least 4000 others from the landmark 1980s inquiry into police corruption.
Former head of Queensland police's Special Branch, Barry Krosch, says in November 2011 he was researching for post-graduate study at the State Archives in Brisbane, but realised the documents he wanted to view had a 65-year ban on them, imposed upon the inquiry's completion in 1989.
Three months later, he noticed the access ban period on the same documents was 20 years.
He asked State Archives if that was correct and questioned the change of access period.
He ordered the documents and received them at his home at Kingaroy on March 4, 2012.
Also in early 2012, he noticed 1988 surveillance logs from the Special Branch were publicly available and named targets of operations.
"So anyone who was a little bit computer savvy or familiar with the archives could have found the targets," he said.
He couldn't recall when the documents were removed from public access but believes it could have been as late as November 2012.
On May 24, 2012 he emailed Sidonie Wood, Official Solicitor to the CMC, to warn her of the release of the documents.
"I just hope that targets from that era don't realise the reports are there for them to inspect," he wrote in the email.
Following his warning, on July 18, 2012 he requested to see more documents at State Archives and was inadvertently given hundreds of pages of sensitive documents he didn't ask for.
He couldn't recall if they contained information about targets and informants but believed they should have been embargoed for 65 years.
"I just remember I sort of said to myself 'holy hell, I shouldn't be looking at this'," he said.
"I took it to the counter ... and said someone should have a good look.
"Sort it out.
"There is no question in my mind, if it fell off the back of a truck, a lot of mischief could be caused and danger."
Earlier on Wednesday, a transcript was made public of a closed meeting held last week between CMC chair Ross Martin and the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee (PCMC), which oversees the CMC and is running the public hearing.
In it, Mr Martin said he was deeply embarrassed by the errors.
He said the CMC became aware the documents could be publicly viewed in May 2012 and the issue was only corrected on September 19.
He said he regretted not informing the PCMC until last week.
"It did not occur to me to tell you about it because I thought the problem had been fixed and it was not a matter requiring referral," he said.
"In hindsight, I wish I had."
Mr Martin resigned last Friday for health reasons.
It is believed only 19 people had viewed the documents.
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