A controversial bill designed to limit civil claims relating to the Lawyer X scandal has passed Victoria’s upper house, after the government struck a last-minute deal to push the legislation through.
The Victorian government proposed the law after it and Victoria Police had been mired in civil claims over police informer Nicola Gobbo.
The Labor government initially introduced a bill that would have banned all civil claims resulting from the saga, but accepted an amendment proposed by Libertarian MP David Limbrick to limit compensation to $1 million.
Ms Gobbo was acting as a barrister for gangland clients when she was recruited by Victoria Police as a police informer in an attempt to solve Melbourne’s gangland war in the 2000s.
Nicola Gobbo (right) worked as a lawyer for several underworld figures, including Tony Mokbel (left) (ABC News)
The scandal led to a $100 million royal commission, and two men being freed from jail. Ms Gobbo is suing Victoria Police for “negligence”.
Faruk Orman, whose murder conviction was quashed after his lawyer, Ms Gobbo, was revealed to be a police informer, is also suing Victoria Police.
The law will also apply to cases related to former gangland lawyer Joseph Acquaro who was gunned down in front of a Brunswick Gelato shop in 2016. Mr Acquaro was never registered as an informant but police considered him for the role.
Lawyers acting for Ms Gobbo and Mr Acquaro have condemned the bill, with one labelling it as “outrageous”.
Bill passes after $1 million amendment
After the amendment, the bill won the support of several other crossbenchers including controversial former Liberal MP Moira Deeming.
But the Coalition and the Greens opposed the bill.
Greens MP Tim Read said the law eroded the rights of people wrongly accused of crimes.
“This is legislation that meddles with people’s right to litigation and sets a dangerous precedent for police accountability,” he said.
Faruk Orman’s murder conviction was quashed. (AAP: David Crosling)
Shadow Attorney-General Michael O’Brien accused the government of burying the scandal under the carpet.
“This bill is a disgrace because it puts the Labor government above the law in a way that no Victorian citizen could ever be,” he said.
“This isn’t about saving taxpayers’ money, this is about avoiding accountability for the state’s role in the worst scandal in Victorian legal history.”
In a statement, a Victorian government spokesperson defended the law, which would be enacted once it passed the lower house in coming weeks.
“We haven’t shied away from confronting the difficult truths that arose from the royal commission. At the same time, we acted to ensure events that led to it will never happen again,” the spokesperson said.
“Our aim has always been to protect Victorians from being burdened from the costs of further spending on these matters so we can continue investing in the things that families rely on.”