‘Broken and exhausted’ Nicola Gobbo fears authorities will take her children from her
Barrister-turned-police informer Nicola Gobbo says she lives in ongoing fear that authorities will take her children away from her.
Barrister-turned-police informer Nicola Gobbo says she lives in fear that authorities will take her children from her and believes there is “no end in sight” to her life in hiding.
Ms Gobbo, also known as Lawyer X, is suing the state of Victoria for compensation for loss, injury and damage she claims she suffered as a result of its alleged negligence in its use of her as a police informer.
On her third day in the witness box, Ms Gobbo told the Supreme Court she lived with the constant worry that someone would recognise her, despite her new identity.
Ms Gobbo said her life in hiding, in which she has lived in more than 20 locations with her family, had left her “broken and exhausted”, “worn out” and “numb”.
“It’s filled me with overwhelming guilt for what my children and my family have experienced through no fault of any actions of their own,” she said.
“There’s just no end in sight”.
On Friday, Ms Gobbo also shed light on her legal relations with the state.
In 2010, Ms Gobbo and the state settled a damages claim Ms Gobbo had brought in the Supreme Court against Victoria Police.
The settlement, reportedly worth $2.88m, included terms that Ms Gobbo not be called as a witness or be contacted by Victoria Police again.
But Ms Gobbo told the court the force broke the terms of that settlement less than a year later when a senior constable “attended on my home on the 15th of February 2011 to indicate that I was required to give evidence as a witness”.
Regarding her current claim for compensation, Ms Gobbo said her lawyers had discussions with the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office in 2020 which initially indicated the matter could be settled outside of court.
“I was told that the Victorian Government Solicitor required proof of quantum of damages and it could be resolved without any proceedings being issued, and obviously, as time passed, that changed,” Ms Gobbo said.
Ms Gobbo said she had “great difficulties” providing proof of the quantum of damage because she had no ability to obtain records due to her protection arrangements.
While the monetary figure she is seeking is not disclosed, Ms Gobbo’s statement of claim reveals she will allege Victoria Police’s negligence, as well as misfeasance in public office, caused her to suffer physical and mental health conditions, property loss and loss of earnings.
She is also claiming aggravated damages for the “distress, pain, insult, hurt, humiliation and the like” she claims she suffered as a result of Victoria Police’s “high-handed, insulting or reprehensible conduct”, as well as exemplary damages her lawyers say “should be awarded to punish those Victoria Police officers and deter other police officers from doing what has been done” to her.
The state is defending Ms Gobbo’s claim, and has sought to limit any liability to Ms Gobbo to $1m through the recently enacted State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Act.
Ms Gobbo will return to the witness box on Monday for cross-examination.
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