DPP ‘not fit to act in Nicola Gobbo police probe’

Former Federal Court judge Doug Drummond QC questions whether Victoria will fairly prosecute cops over Lawyer X scandal.

Responsibility for prosecuting Victoria Police for their role in the Lawyer X scandal cannot be left to the Director of Public Prosecutions, former Federal Court judge Doug Drummond QC has submitted to the royal commission in a fiery attack on Victoria Police and its political relationship with the Andrews government.

Mr Drummond, who was a special prosecutor in Queensland after the 1989 Fitzgerald Inquiry, has called for Commissioner Margaret McMurdo to recommend the appointment of a properly resourced special prosecutor to consider whether police members were criminally inculpated.

“Public confidence is unlikely to be restored if it is left to Victoria Police to investigate whether any of its members or former members … have committed criminal offences,” Mr Drummond said.

“That is what will very likely happen if the commission leaves it to the Victorian DPP to decide whether there are to be any criminal prosecutions.”

Mr Drummond said the DPP was responsible to the Attorney-General, and the prosecutor of any cases arising from Nicola Gobbo’s role as a police informant needed to be independent of political direction.

He said the Andrews government had benefited from recent actions by Victoria Police, including its role “rigorously” enforcing the “harsh” lockdown decrees. He also said police had decided not to prosecute any Andrews government MPs involved in the misuse of taxpayer-funded electorate ­officers, despite state Labor “feeling the need to reimburse the public with the $388,000 rorted”.

“There should not be room for any perception that decisions on whether any serving or former (police officers) should be prosecuted may be subject to political influence to ensure continuing police support,” he said.

“Accountability by the special prosecutor can be achieved by the requirement for reporting not to Attorney-General or to the government, but to the parliament.”

Mr Drummond also criticised the ability of Victoria Police or the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission to gather material for the DPP to form a brief of evidence.

“If Victoria Police control the investigations and preparation of briefs for the DPP, they will effectively determine who, if any, police will be prosecuted,” he said.

“How can the public have confidence that Victoria Police will be diligent in investigating and preparing prosecution briefs against their own members?”

He said the agency that does investigate should also be distanced from IBAC, which investigated Ms Gobbo’s role in 2015 but made no findings of criminal conduct by Victoria Police.

“The High Court judgment and a glance at the submissions to the commission by counsel and interested parties shows there are real questions whether numerous Victoria Police committed criminal offences,” he said.

Director Kerri Judd QC said she rejected Mr Drummond’s submission and insisted the DPP was independent of Victoria Police and the Attorney-General.