While this headline may confuse some who are not culturally literate, the meaning relates to fairness, and the colloquialism highlights what we should be offering our new Chief Commissioner: support.
After his appointment was announced, the reactions from many within Policing and those external to the genre were mixed. Generally, they came down in favour of the Force having an opportunity to reset with a leader not restricted by harmful biases, a new broom.
Mike Bush was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Victoria Police on the 27th of July 2025. He had previously served as the Commissioner of Police in New Zealand.
He has been in the chair 29 days, and rumblings of discontent are spreading both within and outside the Force.
These rumblings are grossly unfair and misguided in light of the realities of being Chief.
We have no idea of the knowledge of this State or its police force, the new Chief possesses, but it must be understandably limited, not only professionally but culturally (hence the title of this piece may need interpretation for him). It is a huge leap to lead one of the largest police forces in this country.
Just establishing who he can trust within the organisation is a huge and critical function.
Since he was appointed, even with all his personal adjustments, moving to a new country, albeit just across the ditch, the new chief has hit the role at full pace. He really hasn’t had a chance to unpack his bags.
His other major challenge is the culture at VicPol. We have been accustomed to Chief Commissioners being appointed from within Australia. Christine Nixon, who came from New South Wales, went on to attack the force’s culture with very mixed results. Two others came from the Australian Federal Police with little or no community policing experience.
The folly of appointing an outsider is always fraught with difficulty, and it is far too soon to cast comparisons of the new chief, although early signs are encouraging.
Much of the criticism has been about his lack of media appearances, something those same critics conversely levelled at several recent Chiefs who were employed as nodding heads behind political leaders, designed to show the citizens that politicians are in charge, effectively overriding the Force’s operational independence and demonstrating its subservience to the political masters.
Appearances are everything.
Moreover, the use of police chiefs in this way is akin to the school yard bully who always arranged to have the biggest and strongest kid behind them in any confrontation as a backstop to project power and control.
Our view is that if the politicians want to front the media, that’s their prerogative, but please, do away with the “Noddies”.
It is often said that the most dangerous place to be is between a media camera and a politician; they will bowl you over (physically and metaphorically).
However, the idea of joint press conferences must be abolished.
If the situation requires the Chief Commissioner or the Force members more broadly to address the community, they should hold their own press conference.
To all the current critics, rather than criticising the Chief, you might be better off asking where the rest of the Command is?
They are conspicuously absent, with a rare exception, from the media, suggesting an interesting dynamic.
Rather than supporting their New Chief and ‘cutting him a break’, they are ‘keeping their heads below the parapet’, and for many of them, a very wise move, albeit the parapet will not protect their performance or lack of it, but rather than worrying about their careers, they should be worrying about the Force and support the new CCP.
The core of the issue, according to the critics, is just what this new Chief has been doing in his 29 days.
He has been visiting Stations and workplaces, talking with members to gain an understanding of the status quo and identify their issues. He has also been meeting individually with all the Force’s senior personnel, both sworn and unsworn, and there are a lot of them numerically, a major problem with VicPol.
He has familiarised himself with all the major Police complexes. He has attended a police funeral and attended the scenes of a number of major incidents during this period.
On some of these, he has attended in plain clothes so as not to be seen to be taking over, but to observe and support.
By any measure, he has been doing what a new Chief Commissioner should be doing, and there should be no argument that what he is doing is what is expected of him.
Speak to any former Chief Commissioner, and even those promoted internally, and they will tell you it takes 3-4 months to get a good grip on the organisation from the perspective of the Chief Commissioner role. Furthermore, if you talk to any of the former Victoria Police who were fortunate enough to lead other Police Forces in Australia, the bedding-in period was more like 4-6 months.
For the good of this State and the Force, premature criticism is ill-placed.
Let’s give this guy a ‘fair suck of the sav’, there will be plenty of time to throw bouquets or bricks at his performance going forward.
Let us all get behind him and give him ‘a fair go’, that is the Aussie way.
Very good call. When I first joined the job, a very wise sergeant instructor told us…”When you transfer to a new station, keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut until you know what is going on”! This advice was something I always followed and it served me well.
Policing is a complex challenging and open to individual interpretation of action. Often by people with no idea of policing or with vested ideas and intentions in ideology and political popularity. I wish him the very best and the same to every member out doing policing in prevention detection investigation and just helping people
I am in complete agreement. I have a very good feeling about our new CCP and his approach thus far. Senior management, especially if they can’t support him fully, should take their pensions and go. Mike Bush deserves more than ‘a fair go’. He holds the future of Victoria and VicPol in his hands.
Eyes wide open and mouth shut. Just like and investigation gather all the evidence and let that speak.
Empty jam tins make a lot of noise. There are plenty if those around at the moment.
Victoria needed an outsider as we did in the 1930’s when Alexander Duncan was appointed from the MET in Britain.
He reformed the force into one that was once the best in the world.
How that reputation has been denigrated is a sad indictment of previous Victoria Police administrations.
An excellent article ,well said.
I highlight the paragraph that I have copied/pasted from the above article.
To all the current critics, rather than criticising the Chief, you might be better off asking where the rest of the Command is?
That is an exceptional question. Where is the rest of command whilst the Chief is settling in?? Surely they would be on hand, to support for any media during his settling in period.
First thing I liked was his understanding of the IT debacle we have in VicPol – 200 plus systems that don’t talk to each other – the ADF have 3 and NZ were ahead of the IT game when I visited to sign contracts for a new WPS boat in 2012 – if he gets this right it will be a major achievement and big tick by the frontline, so I agree we need to give him a fair suck of the sav
The Labor Gov would only appoint someone they trust – ‘a safe pair of hands’, someone who won’t ask awkward questions or investigate things the gov wants left untouched.
If anyone believes otherwise they need their head read.