Christine Nixon

There can be no doubt that Christine Nixon’s size played an unpleasant part in some of the public criticism she faced over her decision to dine with friends at a flash restaurant as the Victorian Bushfire inferno unfolded on the evening of February 7, 2009.

If Christine Nixon weighed 60kg she would have been shielded from the kind of snide public remarks about how, frankly, she wasn’t about to die of starvation anyway and could probably have made do with a quick sandwich as she liaised with and – crucially – led her team at the bushfire control centre.

That’s where any sympathy for Christine Nixon should end though. If her detractors have at times offensively used her weight as a vehicle to pile on the ridicule, the former Victorian Police Commissioner has probably been just as guilty of using the “fattist” issue (that’s her term) as a foil for her abrogation of responsibility on that horrendous night.

Continue reading "Sorry, but Christine Nixon deserves the criticism" »

The NSW Government is currently trialling Ethics classes for students in year 5 as an alternative to the Religious Education that has been a weekly feature of public education in that state.

In today’s fast paced world, where concepts of right and wrong are increasingly blurred in a stream of You-Tube-anything-goes behaviour, ethics education could be incredibly beneficial.

But the critical question is who determines what is ethical? Do we look at the conduct of public figures to create modern yardsticks of ethical behaviour? Do we look to our political leaders?

Continue reading "Ethics classes for Labor pollies and their appointees" »

Christine Nixon’s testimony in front of the bushfire Royal Commission today could well spell the end of her role chair of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction taskforce, and stain a successful career in the police force.

Nixon’s testimony today has drawn a thundering afternoon editorial from Melbourne’s Herald Sun demanding that Ms Nixon be sacked.

The paper pointed out that Nixon has admitted (amongst other things) today that she did not use her phone at all between 6pm and 9pm that evening, did not speak to Assistant Commissioner Kieran Walshe once despite previously saying she had and had not told anyone she had gone to dinner.

Continue reading "We won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore" »

Whatever you make of the revelations that have emerged of Christine Nixon’s actions during the Black Saturday bushfires, she deserves respect for the apology made this morning in Victoria’s Herald Sun newspaper.

Admitting that you are wrong is difficult for people of any profession and given the tumultuous scale of grief and loss of the Black Saturday disaster, her position and decision to make admissions and forthcoming apology is an unenviable one.

As she wrote herself, no-one could have known or prepared for the disasters that ensued on that horrible Saturday a year ago, but her willingness to “report” back on her own actions in such a difficult situation shows not only a deep respect for the Victorian people but a willingness to support them and push through into the future by their side.

Continue reading "Christine Nixon deserves respect amid the firestorm" »