Nicola Gobbo has broken her silence for the first time in years as she sues the state of Victoria over the Lawyer X scandal. The controversial legal figure says she continues to suffer, two decades after Victoria police signed her up as a secret informer.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00One of Victoria's most controversial legal figures had a legion of lawyers at court,
00:07but Nicola Gobbo was nowhere to be seen.
00:10This was the last time she was publicly photographed, five years ago.
00:14Today she testified via video link from a secret location, with the court ensuring the
00:19public wasn't able to see her face.
00:22Miss Gobbo, are you currently unemployed?
00:24Her barrister asked.
00:25I'm a full time mother, she replied.
00:28Three decades ago, Miss Gobbo's full time job was representing criminals like Carl Williams,
00:32Tony Mockbell and Lewis Moran.
00:35On the good days, she was invited to celebrate with them.
00:38On the bad ones, hitmen like Andrew Benji Veneman threatened her life.
00:43The fear led her to double cross her clients and become a police informer.
00:48The ethical betrayal occurred as the bodies began to pile up during Melbourne's Gangland
00:52War.
00:53It was almost unbelievable, I had never known anyone to have been murdered before.
00:58Miss Gobbo's actions caused a legal scandal, triggering a royal commission and the overturning
01:02of several convictions.
01:04Now she's suing the state of Victoria, arguing police broke promises to keep her identity
01:10a secret.
01:11Miss Gobbo wants compensation for ongoing physical and mental health trauma, and holds
01:15Victoria Police responsible.
01:18Over the past six years, Miss Gobbo has been hiding and in protection.
01:21The court heard she has lived in more than a dozen locations in Australia and around
01:25the world.
01:26But because of her situation, she hasn't been able to get a new passport, sell her properties
01:31or access her health records.
01:33She's assumed a new name and had surgery to change her appearance.
01:37The state of Victoria is defending the case and the actions of police.
01:42Senior officers from the Gangland era are set to give evidence at the trial about how
01:46much they knew of Miss Gobbo's arrangement as an informer.
01:49Nicola Gobbo was seen as a dream recruit when she was signed up to help Victoria Police.
01:54What's followed has been an ongoing nightmare for the force, governments and the legal system.
02:00She'll continue giving her evidence tomorrow.