Christine Nixon

Christine Nixon AO, APM (born 11 June 1953) is an Australian former police officer who was the chief commissioner of Victoria Police from 23 April 2001 to 27 February 2009, being the first female chief commissioner in any Australian state police force. After leaving Victoria Police, she was appointed as chair of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority in February 2009 until she stood down from the position in July 2010.

Christine Nixon
AO, APM
19th Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police
In office
23 April 2001 – 27 February 2009
Preceded byNeil Comrie
Succeeded bySimon Overland
Personal details
Born (1953-06-11) 11 June 1953
Manly, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
SpouseJohn Becquet
ResidenceMelbourne
EducationBA, Macquarie University
MPA, Harvard Kennedy School
Known forFirst woman to become a police commissioner in Australia.

Education

Nixon attended Macquarie University before attaining a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.[1]

Police career

The daughter of Ross Nixon, an assistant commissioner with the New South Wales Police Force, Christine Nixon began her policing career with the same police force in 1972, also rising to the rank of Assistant Commissioner.[2]

She was appointed Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police in April 2001 by the Bracks Labor government.[3]

Having initially set a retirement date of late March 2009, Nixon departed earlier at the request of the Victorian Government to take on responsibility for the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority.[4][5]

She was succeeded as Chief Commissioner by Simon Overland.[6]

Pride March
The gay community showed their respect for Nixon in marches at the 2009 Midsumma festival.

As Chief Commissioner, Nixon marched in uniform during Melbourne's gay and lesbian 'Pride March', run as part of the Midsumma Festival. Nixon is heterosexual but marched to express her support for gay and lesbian causes, stating "What I'm doing is supporting decent and reasonable people who want to get on with their lives, and they have been treated appallingly previously by the Police, and I'm prepared to do something about it. And if it's a small symbol of marching with them, then that would be a reasonable thing to do."[2][7]

Criticism

Nixon was criticised when she joined her husband, John Becquet, a former Qantas senior executive of crew operations, on the October 2008 inaugural international flight of Qantas' Airbus A380 airliner from Melbourne to Los Angeles, as guests of Qantas in an all-expenses-paid, three-day trip. Ms Nixon called the trip "reasonable" and commented that she was accompanying her husband, and that she had not had a holiday in about 12 months. Mr Becquet defended the trip by saying they were invited to LA after a chance meeting with a Qantas executive. "I am normally her handbag but on this she's my handbag." The couple celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary during this week.[8] The head of the Office of Police Integrity, Michael Strong, sought information on the matter from Ms Nixon[9] at a time of calls for her to reimburse the airline for the cost of the trip.

Royal commission

Nixon was called to appear before the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission concerning her actions as chief commissioner during the Black Saturday bushfires on 7 February 2009. Counsel assisting the commission, Rachel Doyle SC, questioned Nixon on issues such as a morning hairdressing appointment, a lunchtime meeting with her biographer and an evening dinner at a restaurant, all during the worst day of the bushfires. Nixon defended her actions, stating, "It was not my job to swoop in and take control. When you have good people who are more skilled in emergency management than I am, you let those people do the job."[10]

Bushfire authority

In February 2009 Nixon assumed responsibility for the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, the agency tasked with rebuilding areas affected by the Black Saturday bushfires of February 2009.[5] She stood down from the position on 17 July 2010, and announced she would take on a voluntary advisory role with the authority.[11]

Chair of RACGP

In October 2019 Nixon was selected as the chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) board. This was the first time in the college's 61-year history that a non-GP was chosen for the role. She had been on the RACGP council since 2017. RACGP president Harry Nespolon praised her prior skills in leading large organisations and said of the appointment, "Ideally we would have a GP chairing the RACGP as a member-based organisation, but at the moment, Christine is the right person."[12]

Other positions

Nixon was a non-executive director of Foster's Group from 1 April 2010[13] to 31 August 2010.[14] She also serves as Patron or Advisor to the Alannah and Madeline Foundation,[15] Onside Victoria,[16] Operation Newstart Victoria[17] and The Phoenix Club Inc.[18] She has been appointed as the Deputy Chancellor of Monash University.[19]

Awards

Nixon has been awarded the Australian Police Medal, the National Medal, the Centenary Medal, the New South Wales Police Medal and clasps for Ethical and Diligent Service and the New South Wales Police Force Olympic Citation.[20] She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for "law enforcement, to women in policing, and to tertiary education" in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.[21][22]

Health

On 18 July 2010 Nixon was taken to hospital. She subsequently underwent gall bladder surgery.[23]

Memoirs

In 2011 Nixon published her memoirs in the book Fair Cop (ISBN 9780522856859), which she wrote with Jo Chandler. The book was launched by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. It was criticised by the Police Association Victoria for what the association claims is a biased recollection of events,[24] and by the Herald Sun.[25]

See also

References
  1. Nixon, Christine (23 January 2003). "Interview With Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon: Australia's First Female Police Chief" (PDF) (Transcript). Interviewed by Tim Prenzler. Melbourne: Griffith University. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  2. Nixon, Christine (10 October 2005). "Christine Nixon". Talking Heads (Transcript). Interviewed by Peter Thompson. ABC Television. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  3. "Victoria appoints Australia's first female Police Commissioner". PM. ABC Radio. 16 March 2001. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  4. Wallace, Rick (5 November 2008). "Global search for Victoria Police boss as Christine Nixon quits". The Australian. Archived from the original on 8 November 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  5. "About Us – Christine Nixon, APM". We Will Rebuild. Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority. Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  6. Silvester, John (3 March 2010). "Copping it sweet". The Age. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  7. Wisdom Interviews: Christine Nixon. Retrieved 25 September 2007
  8. Christine Nixon not sorry about Qantas junket, Peta Hellard, Holly Ife, Herald Sun, 23 October 2008
  9. Nixon faces OPI quiz over Super Jumbo freebie, The Age, 24 October 2008
  10. Rintoul, Stuart (17 April 2010). "Christine Nixon's admissions fan the flames of outrage". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
  11. Nixon steps down from bushfire authority, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 July 2010.
  12. O'Rourke, Geir (28 October 2019). "RACGP appoints non-GP as board chair". AusDoc.PLUS. Australian Doctor Group. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  13. "Christine Nixon joins Foster's board". news.theage.com.au. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  14. "Christine Nixon Resigns from Foster's Board". fostersgroup.com. 20 August 2010. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  15. "Advisory Board and Partners". amf.org.au. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  16. "Our Patrons". onsidevictoria.org.au. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  17. "Operation Newstart Victoria". onv.org.au. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  18. "Our Patron". phoenixclub.org.au. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  19. "Dr Christine Nixon". Monash University.
  20. "Australian Honours – Christine Nixon". itsanhonour.gov.au. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  21. "Ms Christine Nixon APM". It's An Honour. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  22. "Tough but rewarding time as top woman cop". PerthNow. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  23. "Christine Nixon rushed to hospital". news.com.au. 18 July 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  24. "Police association secretary slams Nixon biography as 'inaccuracies and lies'". theaustralian.com.au. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  25. Howe, Alan (1 August 2011). "Christine failed us all and that's about the size of it". heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
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