Royal commission lawyers continue push to have individual officers held accountable for Lawyer X
Victoria Police’s apology for using gangland lawyer Nicola Gobbo as an informer is nothing but an attempt to shield individual officers from being held to account, a lawyer assisting the royal commission says.
Police & Courts
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Lawyers acting for the royal commission examining the conduct of Victoria Police and its star informer Nicola Gobbo have not only rejected their complaints, but are still gunning for individual officers to be held accountable.
Counsel assisting Chris Winneke QC has stridently defended his team’s 2000-plus page submission to Lawyer X Commissioner Margaret McMurdo, which drew ire from the force and Gobbo.
Significantly, Mr Winneke points to Victoria Police’s recent public apology as lacking in ‘institutional remorse’.
Although Victoria Police has accepted responsibility for failings in relation to Gobbo, Mr Winneke takes aim at the force for blaming “systemic failures’’ in an effort to protect individual officers, both past and current, over the Gobbo blunder.
He says it “reflects an attempt to shield the actors from bearing responsibility for their actions’’.
The High Court’s 2018 ruling which described Gobbo’s ethical breaches as “appalling’’ and Victoria Police’s conduct as “reprehensible’’ is highlighted.
“Notwithstanding this....., Victoria Police is unwilling to accept that any individual was at the very least negligent, as though systemic and organisational failures by Victoria Police can somehow arise in a vacuum,’’ Mr Winneke states.
“Simply put, Victoria Police seeks to elide individual responsibility under the cover of systemic failure.’’
Duplicitous lawyer Gobbo’s claims of unfair treatment are also rejected.
“There is an air of unreality to Ms Gobbo’s allegation of prejudgement and to her complaint about being singled out for unfavourable treatment,’’ Mr Winneke says.
Gobbo not only complains about “procedural fairness’’ and a “preconceived narrative’’ delivered by Mr Winneke and his team, she says she was rushed into the witness box to give evidence and pushed for time in her own submissions.
But Gobbo’s complaints are labelled as “simply wrong’’.
Gobbo states she was given as little as two days to prepare to give evidence in February.
Mr Winneke says her claims are “disingenuous’’ given Gobbo spent months attempting to avoid giving evidenced.
“This inquiry has been on foot for 18 months,’’ he states.
“Ms Gobbo is a central figure in the inquiry. She has been represented by eminently capable counsel and solicitors throughout the inquiry, who have been present for all relevant evidence and submissions.
“She gave evidence to the Commission over multiple days and was cross-examined. She has therefore been on notice for many months as to the issues that are ‘in the ring’ relating to her conduct as a human source.’’
Mr Winneke also makes reference that Victoria Police has redacted almost every document it produced to the commission under public interest immunity claims.
“The issue of redactions is a matter that has plagued the Commission from the commencement of its inquiry,’’ he said.
Commissioner McMurdo’s final report is due November 30.
Lawyer X, the story of how one woman played off police and criminals, is published by HarperCollins Australia. Order your copy now at Booktopia