Lawyer X: Royal Commission special investigator’s office disbanded

Premier Dan Andrews said he stands by his decision not to give special investigator Geoffrey Nettle the powers to place his own charges, saying “investigators don’t make good prosecutors”.

A public spat had erupted between former High Court judge Geoffrey Nettle (middle) and Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd (right) over whether Nicola Gobbo (left) could be trusted.

Premier Daniel Andrews denies the Lawyer X Royal Commission was a waste of time and taxpayer money.

The Andrews government this week moved to disband the office of the Special Investigator that was tasked with probing the saga.

Closing that office means charges over the Lawyer X scandal – which was unearthed by the Herald Sun – are unlikely to ever be handed down.

Despite that, Mr Andrews said he supported the decision to not give special investigator Geoffrey Nettle the powers to place his own charges.

“Investigators don’t make good prosecutors. There needs to be a separation. If you have investigated a matter you are altogether too close to it to be making decisions about whether a conviction is likely,” he said.

“The only thing that should guide that is the considered judgment of the Director of Public Prosecutions.”

Daniel Andrews supported the decision to not give special investigator Geoffrey Nettle the powers to place his own charges. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Mr Andrews said he had faith in Director of Public Prosecution Kerri Judd’s decision to not approve criminal charges recommended by Justice Nettle.

“You can hope for outcomes but the evidence has to be there, and the likelihood of a conviction needs to be there,” Mr Andrews said.

“Otherwise, to be really frank, Kerri Judd could have made a different call with almost certainty that she would not get a conviction. Is that really what we want the Director of Public Prosecutions doing, making decisions for show? No, they should be decisions based on the brief.

“The notion that the only metric to establish the value of this work is people being charged only to not get convicted, that is not the metric of success or progress.

“Making profound changes so that what occurred can never happen again, that is the most important thing.”

Centre for Public Integrity director Geoffrey Watson SC said charges should have been pursued regardless of whether a conviction was likely.

Mr Watson said he didn’t believe Lawyer-X related charges would ever be handed down while the Andrews government is in power.

“Not under this government, not under this DPP and not while ever the most powerful trade union in Victoria is the Police Association,” he told ABC Radio.

“You’ll never get it. Nobody is willing to act to the interests contrary to the other.

“It’s an awful circumstance.”

Mr Andrews slammed Mr Watson’s comments as “just ridiculous” and not based on fact.

“I don’t know that individual and quite frankly he’s in no position to be lecturing me or anybody on relationships with the Police Association,” he said.

“The Police Association have had some pretty choice commentary about me over the journey.

“I’ve never met the person, never. What would he possibly know about my relationship with anybody, let alone TPA. Go and ask (Police Association secretary) Wayne Gatt how close I am with them. It’s just ridiculous.

“You put expert behind someone’s name and suddenly they can just draw any conclusion they want?”

Justice Geoffrey Nettle.

The Herald Sun previously revealed charges over the Lawyer X scandal are unlikely to ever be handed down after the Andrews government moved to disband the office of the Special Investigator tasked with probing the saga.

The shock move comes just days after special investigator Geoffrey Nettle sensationally threatened his resignation amid an ongoing feud with Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Kerri Judd.

In June 2021, the government appointed Justice Nettle as special investigator to examine whether charges should be laid against police and disgraced gangland barrister Nicola Gobbo over the scandal, which was unearthed by the Herald Sun.

In his report, Justice Nettle wrote that it would be a “waste of time and money” for his office to continue pursuing the matter, which has been dubbed as potentially the greatest legal scandal in Victoria’s history.

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes on Tuesday afternoon confirmed the office would close. Picture: David Geraghty

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes on Tuesday afternoon confirmed the office would be closed after two years.

“Both the Special Investigator and Royal Commission Implementation Monitor, Sir David Carruthers, have recommended the winding up of the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) – and we have accepted their advice,” she said.

“I would like to thank Geoffrey Nettle for his work and wish him well for the future.

“Prosecutorial decisions are a matter for the DPP and it is critical that the Office of the Public Prosecutions operates independently of government and statutory bodies like the OSI.”

The state opposition last week called on the government to give Lawyer X investigators the power to place their own charges.

The office of the Special Investigator examined whether charges should be laid against disgraced gangland barrister Nicola Gobbo. Picture: ABC

Shadow Attorney-General Michael O’Brien said the government’s “appalling decision” protected “rotten lawyers and corrupt cops” at the expense of the integrity of the justice system.

“By turning its back on former High Court justice Geoffrey Nettle and closing down the OSI, Labor is giving a free pass to all of those who engaged in what our highest court condemned as ‘reprehensible conduct’,” he said.

“The worst legal scandal in Victorian history will end with a whimper because a weak Labor government does not want to give the OSI the power to authorise charges.

“It is perhaps fitting that the scandal which shockingly undermined Victoria’s justice system will remain unpunished because of the insipid weakness of the Andrews government”.

A public dispute between Justice Nettle and Ms Judd broke out last week after the OSI submitted a report to Ms Symes detailing his work so far.

This included charges he had briefed to Ms Judd for consideration but were knocked back, prompting Justice Nettle to declare the chances of prosecution were “effectively nil” and demand that his office be shut down.

Ms Judd responded with her own statement defending her decisions, and said at no stage did she rule out the prospect of authorising any future prosecution.

Both sides were at odds over whether a key witness, believed to be Gobbo herself, would give evidence against Victoria Police without requesting immunity.

Ms Judd said she had no confidence Gobbo would agree to plead guilty and had major concerns about another “crucial witness who was protected by a pseudonym.”