The Victorian community and media can be wonderful, but they do sometimes disappoint. Seldom is that more the case than right now with the vicious and ongoing attack on the credibility of former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon.
I have felt very uncomfortable about this from the start, though my discomfort peaked this morning after hearing a talkback caller on ABC774 radio. The woman, who was severely affected by the Black Saturday fires, spoke about how the campaign against Nixon, now head of the authority charged with rebuilding after the fires, is reopening old wounds and causing untold trauma to a great many people in the devastated areas.
Those leading the charge against Nixon need to take a deep breath and think about what they are doing. What are they hoping to achieve? Presumably the sacking of Nixon from her current role – a role completely separate from that which she held on the night in question. And what will be the benefit of this? Punishment of Nixon for her apparent error of judgement on the evening of February 7, 2009.
That’s it. Nixon’s fall won’t bring anyone back to life. It won’t rewind the clock. It won’t make things better. If anything it will make things worse for the victims of the fires, most of whom think she is doing a good job on the rebuilding task, and are surely the only people who matter in all of this.
Hands up those who have never done anything they came to regret in hindsight. I know I have, more than once. I know people like former premier Jeff Kennett, now calling for her Nixon’s sacking have too. (Kennett’s call is astonishing given he heads up the anti-depression organisation beyondblue – he clearly has no feeling for the affect this controversy is having on the fire affected population). And I’m pretty sure that every newspaper editor and journalist calling for Nixon’s sacking has similarly made a mistake or two somewhere along the way.
It’s one thing to hold to account those in positions of responsibility. It’s quite another to hold them to different standards than those to which we hold ourselves. Many in the media and the wider community need to do some soul searching.
(If you agree with these sentiments, show your support of Christine Nixon by signing an online petition here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/christinenixon/).
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
David,
I agree 100% Surely the role of any organisational head is to build capability, infrastructure, and implement a long-term vision. Not to fight fires (no pun intended) during a disaster.
Perhaps she did make an error of judgement in a couple of hours in one night but to focus all the debate on those few hours serves no purpose. Surely we should be focussing on the capability and performance of the entire organisations – not just one individual.
It would be very sad indeed if the main lesson people walked away with from all this was where to eat if we are ever faced with a similar disaster.
Well said Dave.
What is the best way to support her? I was so glad to hear her press conference tonight but how does an ordinary person tell her we want her to hang in there? Her courage is enormous and she should not be chosen as the fall person for the debacle of the fires. Sure, she could have done things differently but I went to bed that night having no idea of the enormity of the situation and what could I have done to stop it. But Iwant to do something to stop this injustice. m
To judge Christine Nixon on her decision on the evening of an event which at the time seemed serious, but nowhere near as serious as it seems in retrospect is unfair. To reach an informed position, it is essential to look at here complete record of service across her career.
Perhaps those in the media and in the community, who have lived a life without blemishes, errors of judgement or mistakes of any kind can be the first ones to cast the stones of justice. But if none of these people can condemn her, then neither should we.
Christine Nixon :
- by not eating/having hair done, etc COULD NOT have – known the extent or seriousness of the fire – MOST of the fire fighters didn’t.
Even if the true situation was known she could not have constructed adwquate fire breaks or built roads for people to escape. The problems go back to Govt inactivity following the previous Bushfire Investigation, and the ridiculous view that every single living plant must be left to grow and die, rather than judicial land clearing and better land/ enviro DSE management.