Apr 7 2010
By Candy Lashkari
In a public statement Mr Brumby released he endorsed Nixon and her appointment. Mr Brumby stated, “Christine has said that she should have done things differently on Black Saturday. It is important that we wait for the recommendations of the Royal Commission before passing judgment. Christine and the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority have been crucial to helping fire-affected communities rebuild. The Government supports Christine continuing in her role at VBRRA.’’
Christine Nixon has been under attack because she went out for dinner with friends on Black Saturday when the Bushfires were being fought. “I had talked to the fire chiefs and they said there was that potential. I understood that and so I made a decision that the coming days would be very difficult, that I would be away, and I needed to go home and have a meal, monitor the situation and be up at 5am the following morning,'' she said.
The fires had killed 173 people on February 2009. It was Australia’s worst natural disaster and Ms Nixon was in charge of the police response to the raging bushfires. The federal Liberal MP Fran Bailey, whose electorate takes in much of the area hardest hit by the fires, said this about Nixon’s decision to go out for dinner, “She was someone who was right at the epicentre of this tragedy and this disaster that was unfolding and she blithely went out to dinner with friends. `There is no excuse for that sort of behaviour. There really isn't.”
Fran Bailey is amongst the many who have been asking Ms Nixion to step down or be sacked for her decision that night. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd came to Ms Nixon’s support and was quoted by a spokesperson as saying “The Prime Minister has full confidence in Christine Nixon and the work she is doing leading the bushfire reconstruction in Victoria”
Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said, “It’s almost impossible for her to retain the confidence of the people she has to deal with. I think had this knowledge been public when she was appointed to the reconstruction authority, perhaps she might not have been appointed.’’
Police Association secretary Greg Davies had this to say, “This is a scandalous situation. There is no excuse for it. On the information that’s available, it’s impossible for anyone to back her. This is not about a Christine Nixon witch hunt. This is about substance over style and there was very little substance on the day, quite clearly.”
Ms Nixon’s response to all the drama was simple and to the point, “I had to eat, it’s as simple as that. It wasn’t a celebration or anything else. It was a simple matter of a meal with two people and then I went home. I had dinner for an hour, people knew where I was. I left very capable people at the centre knowing that also the minister was arriving and so was Deputy Commissioner Walsh, and I have great faith in them and I believed they would continue to pursue the job I’d seen them doing.”