Podcast Transcript: Power Bite - Christine Nixon

Jenelle McMaster
Turning to the Black Saturday. Bushfires occurred in 2009. Sadly, 173 lives were lost. But it was also a time when you personally faced criticism, for what was described at that time as hands-off leadership, you also had to front a royal commission. Was it just time that helped you find your way out of that? Or was it turning your attention to more recovery efforts? Was it another role? What was it?

Christine Nixon
I think the recovery helped because I knew what I was doing. I mean, there were some people in the recovery communities and people who some of the committees affected who said, oh no, you should stand down. But what really, I suppose, got me a bit more focused on that and what I described as you have to get over yourself sometimes is a family who big public functions down in Federation Square and sort of see the assembled media and everybody else.

Christine Nixon
We all made mistakes. Perhaps my husband and I have made mistakes and maybe Christine's made mistakes, but in this case, we just had to get on with it. We wanted to stay and we wanted to help. The woman making that statement had lost two kids at the time. And I figured to myself, she's lost her kids, she's lost other family and friends. And what I've lost is a reputation. So I need to get over it.

Christine Nixon
And I need to be able to be here supporting those people in the recovery of their communities, 109 communities across Victoria, and leave the authority to a point when my job is done and then, you know, someone else could take it over for the next phase. That helped. I think writing about it afterwards helped and my job just started the controversy again in some ways.

Jenelle McMaster
Exactly.

Christine Nixon
But at least I got to put out my view of what had happened and the various players that had caused this to, you know, to be bought to the full.

Jenelle McMaster
You know, it's very powerful. I mean, time is a powerful healer, but also shifting perspective and being clear on purpose, all of which you sort of had around you, is really powerful. And in 2002, you defied critics not only by allowing police officers to march in uniform, but also becoming the first chief commissioner to join the Gay and Lesbian Pride March in Melbourne. Pretty historic moment. What impact did that have for you and for the community? What was the feedback and reaction?

Christine Nixon
You know, I figured a long time ago, that leadership is not about popularity. I wasn't looking to be the most popular person in Victoria Police because I figured that was never going to be a way to do things.

Christine Nixon
You sometimes have to make that decision that not everybody is going to agree with you. But what I think many people did agree with, I would say I'm standing up for people who have been doing a good job and they need me to do that for them to stand up for them and that was both the police officers and professional staff but.

Christine Nixon
It was also the broader Gay and Lesbian community and the relationship between the police and the Gay and Lesbian community has been atrocious. And I knew a lot of that history from the 70’s and 80’s and so it seemed to me this was an opportunity now not only to march it was just really a small symbol, the more important piece was to put liaison officers in place to figure out how we could do better to attract people to join the police who were gay and lesbian, transsexual, bisexual backgrounds, you know all of that, so they would see pleasing as something they felt comfortable to be part of.

Jenelle McMaster
Were there any moments in maybe that time when you were with the police association that you were like oh, I did make a change happen that served as something of the fire in the belly that you could do that? Is there anything in particular?

Christine Nixon
Yeah, absolutely. That was the point when we got quotas lifted when we did actually get maternity leave. I mean they're all the kind of things and of course we got women to be able to work in operational policing and actually I was one of them hadn't quite necessarily planned that it would be me but sometimes you get to jump in yourself and put your money where your mouth is somewhat and so I think that was that time. So I did see that changing. It doesn't all work perfectly and as my career progressed over time I started to see that you could bring about change and I think you do have to take the successes as you get them and they often spur you on to try for more change.