That is, Ms Gobbo approached Victoria Police to give confidential information relating to her own clients, it was her that kept coming back and hounding officers to allow her to keep informing, and it was her responsibility to manage professional privilege.

However, in three separate phone conversations between Ms Gobbo and counsel assisting the commission Chris Winneke, the barrister revealed how fear and paranoia perpetuated from Victoria Police handlers and senior officers prompted her to keep talking – even if this meant engaging in inappropriate behaviour police deemed necessary for information.

Ms Gobbo revealed she was “absolutely paranoid”, especially in her first few years as a human informer. Police “made it clear to me they didn’t trust me and they would test me”, she told Mr Winneke, and it prompted her to tell them “every single detail”.

The fear was brought about by a number of threats, namely from Source Development Unit boss Sandy White who, when meeting, was clear about police intentions: “He said to me words to the effect of ‘people like you end up in one of two places, in gaol or in the gutter, so you may as well help us’”. It was the start of a toxic pairing.

Inappropriate relationships rampant in Victoria Police – and encouraged for the purpose of collecting information from known criminals?
Speaking of her relationship with Officer White, Ms Gobbo said it became most problematic following the threats from known criminal Mick Gatto. In the third phone call, Ms Gobbo said at one point she was approached by Mr Gatto and told the criminal underworld would not see she was free from police influence unless she agreed to have sex with him.

It was an obvious, suggestive threat and Ms Gobbo, understandably, said she was not comfortable. However, when she brought her concerns to her handlers, and especially Officer White, she was effectively told to “take one for the team”.

“Sandy White was actively encouraging me, in his words, to take one for the team you know. If it’s got to be done, it’s got to be done. His view was that if I didn’t break laws, and if I didn’t need an indemnity for it, then I should do whatever was necessary,” she said.

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To make matters worse, Ms Gobbo said she would not have been offended if this was believed – that she did, in fact, engage in a sexual relationship with Mr Gatto. She said based on media reporting, “it appears I’ve slept with half the police force”.

Her relationships – often sexual, yes – with police officers have been run over and over again in the media. She took issue with this, especially when officers began to use this against her in their own statements. Namely former handler, Jeff Pope.

According to Ms Gobbo, she and Mr Pope engaged in an on-and-off-again relationship for months before he was her handler in 1999. According to Mr Pope, who is “happily” married, this entire relationship was a lie made up by Ms Gobbo.

In his statement, Mr Pope alleged the former barrister invited him to go to Hawaii with her and that she would foot the bill as part of their relationship. Mr Pope has said a number of times that he was rarely in the same room as Ms Gobbo and as such did not have a chance to speak to her or engage in an affair.

On the Hawaii trip, Ms Gobbo said it was “unmitigated rubbish” and added the idea of her paying the bill, and her lying about the relationship, was “absurd”.

Simon Overland is ‘evil, corrupt and dishonest’
It is no secret Ms Gobbo has taken issue with the “upper echelons of the police force”, with a lawsuit already achieved and another one on the way. In her first phone call last March, she was open about her dislike of the senior members, especially former chief commissioner Simon Overland, who she said was “evil, corrupt and dishonest”.

Despite never meeting the former chief commissioner – assistant commissioner during her time with Victoria Police – Ms Gobbo said she was led to believe by other members of the force that Mr Overland approved of her use and encouraged her registration.

“I was always led to believe that he was well aware of my informing and that he was a huge supporter and encouraged it and that, you know, in that time there were often circumstances in which I would say to my handler, whichever handler I was at the time, ‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing?’ and each and every time they would say to me their bosses had approved of it,” Ms Gobbo explained of Mr Overland.

She said that whenever she had doubts about the information she was providing and would ask if her handlers knew it was appropriate, she was always told or led to believe that Mr Overland had given them express permission to seek details.

Ms Gobbo added that she was also led to believe chief commissioner Christine Nixon was also aware of her informing, but was not as sure as she was with Mr Overland.

“It was because the handlers made it clear that, or [gave me] the impression that facts of my involvement went right to the top,” Ms Gobbo explained in the first phone call.

Ms Gobbo keen to talk to the commission, wants it to be ‘in person’
In the first telephone conversation in March, Ms Gobbo appeared to be enthusiastic in providing information to the commission. She opened by saying she wished they had more than the two hours allotted for the first conversation and later, during their break, that she had taken a painkiller and was determined to keep talking.

She told the commission that she was “in [their] hands” and that she was happy to “try and help in any way that I can”. She even joked that because she was not sleeping as well as she should, the early morning hours worked best for her.

“I’m happy to help in any way that I can because there is a lot of background in terms of how police dealt with informers before my time and the way they mishandled or they openly exposed people that they shouldn’t have had because of the processes and in the procedures that they followed that might be of assistance to you,” Ms Gobbo said.

It’s important to note that Ms Gobbo does point out she has some constraints that are preventing her from providing information, noting she is “effectively trapped”. What she is trapped by has been redacted, but concerns for her safety are quite clear.

But for the real kicker, Ms Gobbo said she preferred to have the conversations before the commission and in person because it “makes it so much easier”. All she asked for is Victoria Police not be in the room, as she feels uncomfortable and unsafe with them.

The first phone conversation ended with Ms Gobbo saying she was happy to call again as it was “the most stimulating conversation I’ve had in months”. By the third call, and a couple months into the hearings, she is a little less enthusiastic but maintains there is still a want to continue the conversations in person.

“The bottom line is, I’d prefer to do this in person. It’s a lot easier doing it face-to-face and I appreciate that we go off on tangents and I’m – you’ve got a lot of topics and lot’s of things you’ll come up with, I assume with witnesses you’re asking questions of, and I’m happy to help in any way that I can,” Ms Gobbo told Mr Winneke.

The Lawyers Weekly live blog following the royal commission continues today. Follow along here. 

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