The former head of the New Zealand police force, Mike Bush, has been appointed Victoria’s next chief commissioner, pledging to prioritise crime prevention and increase police visibility across the state.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and police minister, Anthony Carbines, on Tuesday announced Bush had been awarded a five-year contract to run the state’s police force, beginning 27 June.
Bush joined the New Zealand police force in 1978 and was chief commissioner from 2014 until April 2020, when he retired. During his time with the force, he led their response to the 2019 Christchurch massacre and the White Island volcano eruption.
He said he was lured out of retirement after the Victorian government approached him to apply for the role, due to his “real passion for police that’s in my blood”.
“I’ve been doing it my entire adult life and most of my life has been committed to public safety. It’s just so important that people in communities are safe and feel safe, and police services are at the forefront of that,” Bush told reporters.
“That’s two very good reasons and the third one is that the state of Victoria is a brilliant place. Kiwis love Victoria – I’m no different, and I’m very honoured to be part of your community and to serve you.”
Bush joins the Victoria police at a difficult time. Data released in March showed a 13.2% rise in the state’s crime rate in 2024 – the highest since 2016.
Offences committed by children aged between 10 and 17 rose to their highest levels since electronic records began in 1993, prompting the government to tighten its bail laws.
The police leadership has also faced upheaval, with the commissioner, Shane Patton, forced to resigned after a no confidence vote by rank and file police officers in February.
Former emergency management commissioner, Rick Nugent, was then appointed as acting commissioner but blindsided the government in April when he ruled out applying for the permanent post.
Nugent will leave the force on Thursday, with the deputy commissioner for regional operations, Bob Hill, to serve as acting chief commissioner until Bush starts.
Allan said Bush would bring “new leadership” to Victoria police.
“Bush made the community safer in New Zealand and he will do the same here in Victoria,” she said.
His 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honour cited his crime prevention model, which helped reduce offending in the country by 20% between 2010 and 2014.
Bush said he was aware of the “crime issues” within Victoria but they were not unique.
“These crime issues are actually global, quite similar wherever you go, but it’s not good enough just to turn up after the act,” he said.
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“You have to get in front of these things and having a prevention mindset and a prevention focus at the front is really, really important.”
Bush said his approach would be guided by the principal of Sir Robert Peel that police “exist to prevent crime and harm.”
“There’ll definitely be more visibility but we’ll also be quite sophisticated about how we bring in the intelligence and deploy people to get in front of crime issues,” he said.
Bush said he had worked closely with Māori, Pasifika and multicultural and multi-faith communities to build trust. He said New Zealand remained one of the few countries where police did not routinely carry firearms, with long-arm weapons kept in squad cars for emergency use.
It is the first time someone who has not worked at Victoria Police has been appointed to the top job since 2001, when New South Wales police assistant commissioner Christine Nixon was given the job.
Bush acknowledged his “outsider” status and said he was “honoured to be” appointed.
The opposition’s police spokesperson, David Southwick, said Bush would need to be supported in the role with greater funding and independence from government.
“We can’t have this job become a poisoned chalice,” he said.
Southwick likened the recent turnover in the position to a game of “musical chairs” and said he hoped “this one lasts”.
The Police Association of Victoria’s secretary, Wayne Gatt, said the appointment would bring an end to a period of “instability” for the force.
