Lawyer X report months away as Victorian government injects extra $11.5m

The Victorian government will inject an additional $11.5m into the Lawyer X royal commission and delay the final report.

Nicola Gobbo. Screen grabs from ABC 7:30 Report.

The Victorian government will inject an additional $11.5 million into the royal commission examining the double dealings of criminal lawyer-turned-informant Nicola Gobbo with Victoria Police.

As well, state Attorney-General Jill Hennessy has pushed back the final reporting date until November 30, with the royal commission still working through at least 1200 cases potentially contaminated by Ms Gobbo’s information.

“Given the seriousness of the matters involved, it’s important the royal commission is able to fully complete its vital work to preserve the integrity of the criminal justice system,” Ms Hennessy said.

As Ms Gobbo provided legal advice to Melbourne’s underworld during the bloody gangland wars of the mid-2000s, she simultaneously ratted on her clients to Victoria Police.

The royal commission is wading through around 146,000 documents, some of which run thousands of pages, and is still receiving material from Victoria Police as well as other relevant agencies.

A spokeswoman for the royal commission into the management of police informants said the additional time and funding was requested due to delays in receiving evidence, public interest immunity claims, additional hearing days as well as the COVID-19 shutdown.

“Over 1,200 persons have come to the attention of the Commission as candidates for review to determine whether any of their cases may have been potentially affected by Victoria Police’s use of Ms Nicola Gobbo as a human source at different times between 1997 to 2010,” she said.

“However, challenges accessing relevant records from Victoria Police, prosecuting agencies, and the courts have delayed the completion of this substantial piece of work.”

Commissioner Margaret McMurdo was originally scheduled to hand down her report and recommendations on July 1.

Faruk Orman’s wrongful imprisonment is among the hundreds of cases examined by the royal commission and has flagged he will sue the state of Victoria for compensation.

He spent more than a decade behind bars after being convicted on circumstantial evidence given by Ms Gobbo’s clients over the 2002 murder of hitman Victor Pierce.

Ms Gobbo is living in hiding after successfully suing Victoria Police for millions after a bungled attempt to transition her from informant to witness in the case against former drug squad detective Paul Dale.

Public hearings for the royal commission will next be held on May 7 and 13.