Lawyer X investigator lashes out over call not to lay charges

Despite thousands of pages of evidence compiled by a former High Court justice, Victoria's Director of Public Prosecutions is refusing to lay charges over the Lawyer X scandal.

Geoffrey Nettle was appointed special investigator in 2021, tasked with investigating whether charges should be laid against anyone involved.

Nettle tabled a report to state parliament on Wednesday saying he believed that the work of his office - and ongoing investigations - was a "waste of time and money" without a prosecutor willing to test his evidence in court.

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On three occasions, the former High Court justice submitted briefs of evidence, recommending charges be laid against police and others.

All three were knocked back by Victoria's DPP, Kerri Judd KC, who published her reasons in parliament today.

"Much of this material was irrelevant to any likely facts ... and would have been inadmissible," the report said.

It also noted that "the passage of time would undoubtedly have a significant bearing on the prospects of conviction".

Nettle has threatened to quit if the government does not commit to closing his office.

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said she had "met with the office of the special investigator and we'll work through the next steps".

Shadow attorney-general Michael O'Brien labelled the outcome a "joke".

"Victorians must look at this and shake their heads," he said.

"If a murder happened a long time ago, you don't say, 'Alright, we'll let that one go.'

"We're talking about the most serious of crimes which has undermined our legal system.

"We've had a royal commission, a special investigation, tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and not a single person held accountable for the Lawyer X scandal."

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The scandal came to light in 2019, exposing Nicola Gobbo as both a gangland lawyer and a police informant.

Police fought for years to keep that fact suppressed through the court system.

A royal commission later found that using Gobbo as an informant may have tainted the convictions or findings of guilt of 1011 people.

Commissioner Margaret McMurdo concluded the conduct of police officers "corrupted the criminal justice system" and that senior officers "tolerated breaking the rules to help solve a serious crime".

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