Victoria’s new police chief commissioner Mike Bush pledges more cops on the streets

Victoria’s new police chief commissioner Mike Bush has said the state will see more cops on the beat in his first public comments since accepting the role.

Victoria’s new police chief has pledged to make cops more visible on the streets and said he is willing to push back against the Allan-government’s approach to crime when needed.

Mike Bush, the former head of New Zealand’s police force, has also sent a stern message to Victorian crooks as Premier Jacinta Allan formally announced he would become Victoria Police’s new Chief Commissioner.

“If you’re a criminal, you should be worried,” he said.

The Herald Sun on Monday revealed Mr Bush, whose time leading the NZ force included dealing with the Christchurch massacre and White Island volcano eruption, had been selected as the state’s new top cop.

Asked on if he was willing push back against the state government, Mr Bush said “absolutely”.

“That’s part of the job,” he said.

New Zealander Mike Bush will be Victoria’s new police chief. Picture: David Rowland

Mr Bush said his top priorities for Victoria included organised crime, youth crime, community tensions and domestic violence, as well as getting more frontline officers out on the streets.

“There’ll definitely be more visibility,” he said.

“But we’ll also be quite sophisticated about how we bring in the intelligence and deploy people to get in front of crime issues the government.”

Mr Bush said rising community tensions were going to be a “real focus” and he would prioritise “open lines of communication” with religious and cultural groups.

Crime prevention would also be top of the agenda.

“Having a prevention mindset and a prevention focus at the front is really, really important,” he said.

“We actually exist to prevent crime and harm.

“We will be taking a different look at that.”

Mr Bush said his vision for Victoria Police was to ensure the force “have the trust and confidence of everyone”.

“We will do that by ensuring that we are operationally excellent,” he said.

“That we are transparent, we act with integrity, with professionalism, with respect and with compassion.

“My mission is to ensure that everyone within the state of Victoria not only is safe, but feels safe.”

Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent stepped down 41 days after his return to the force. Picture: David. Crosling

Quizzed over the recruitment process and how it compares to others, he said it was “far more robust”, calling it a “really professional process”.

Mr Bush said he was familiar with his predecessor’s departure but hadn’t yet met him.

“I do intend to,” he said.

He acknowledged that he was an “outsider” and said he was “honoured to be”.

“I’ve got a lot to do to come up to speed with all of the issues,” he said.

The new chief said he wouldn’t just be open to feedback from officers but would be “seeking it”.

Mr Bush said he was “familiar” with the state government’s new bail laws but needed to “take a longer look” at them.

“I’m very keen to understand where they’re at and how they may be applied,” he added.

“It’s one part of the solution.

“But there are many solutions to getting in front of youth crime.”

Ms Allan said she was confident that Mr Bush would make Victoria safer, noting his vast experience and strong record.

“During his time leading New Zealand police, public trust went up and crime went down,” she said.

“Mike Bush is the right person for the job of leading Victoria Police into the future.

“He will bring new leadership to Victoria Police.

“Mr Bush made the community safer in New Zealand, and he will do so here in Victoria.”

Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton. Picture: David Caird

Opposition police spokesman David Southwick said it was “disappointing” that the government couldn’t find a local to fill the job.

“But who’d want it?” he said.

“We have a government that literally says it’s my way or the highway when it comes to policing.

“It’s musical chairs, one police commissioner after another.”

Police Association Secretary Wayne Gatt said some of the most critical challenges facing Mr Bush would be boosting the force’s morale and driving up recruitment numbers.

“We need to keep the police we have and deliver the police force that Victorians deserve,” Mr Gatt said.

“There’s a disconnect at the moment, and members tell us that they fear that decision making is sometimes not being connected with what’s really needed on the front line, a true in-depth understanding of the challenges confronting police and understanding the things they need.

“The more you listen to the people at the frontline that are doing the job, that are dealing with community, with victims, with offenders for that matter, the better decisions you make, the quicker you will respond, the more dynamic and agile a policing organisation will be.”

When asked whether a historic drunk driving conviction impacted Mr Bush’s ability to lead Victoria Police, Mr Gatt said: “Police officers, just like everybody else in the community, we make mistakes from time to time”.

“We learn from those mistakes.”

Mr Gatt backed the emphasis on proactive and preventive policing that Mr Bush took to driving down crime in New Zealand.

“We can’t measure success by the amount of crimes that are being investigated, even if they’re investigated successfully, because ultimately a crime that’s committed is a measure of failure,” Mr Gatt said.

Mr Bush, who has signed a five-year contract, will start in the role on June 27.

Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent will vacate the role on May 8.

Regional Operations Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill will step into the role of Acting Chief Commissioner until Mr Bush starts.

It comes as Stuart Nash, NZ’s former police minister when Mr Bush was head of the force, said he would be key to repairing mounting distrust of the Victoria Police’s top brass.

Mr Bush – widely known in NZ as “Bushy” – was very popular among frontline officers, Mr Nash added, and known for remembering names and faces of officers around the country.

“This is a very experienced police officer … who has a very strong track record on driving cultural change, whilst at the same time concentrating on the issues that are important to the people of the communities he serves,” Mr Nash told the Herald Sun.

“He’s very much a man who gets down on the ground, understands the issues for the men and women who, you know, who wear the uniform and keep our community safe.

“I think the people of Victoria are in very good hands.”

While pushing for a more proactive and preventive policing style during his previous term as chief, Mr Nash and Mr Bush conducted annual “minister commissioner” visits to stations around the country to speak with members about their concerns.

Mr Nash said Victoria could benefit from a similar, hands-on approach.

“They used to go really, really well,” Mr Nash said.

“He (Bush) communicates with everyone and not just all those within the force. I’m also talking about community leaders and in different sectors within society.

“He’s a very innovative leader.”

Ex NZ chief commissioner to become Vic top cop

The ex-head of New Zealand’s police force will become Victoria Police’s new Chief Commissioner, the Herald Sun can reveal.

Sources told the Herald Sun Mr Bush was “extraordinarily well credentialed”.

Mr Bush served as New Zealand’s Chief Commissioner from 2014 until his retirement in 2020.

The veteran officer first joined the force in 1987 and was heavily involved in responses to some of the nation’s most horrific tragedies.

Shane Patton with Premier Jacinta Allan and Police Minister Anthony Carbines. Picture: David Caird

They included the Christchurch massacre in 2019, when a gunman shot 51 people dead at two mosques, and the fatal White Island volcano eruption in the same year.

He also played a key role in the emergency response to the 2004 Thailand Boxing Day tsunami.

His decades of experience include work in counter-terrorism and helping manage the nation’s initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

Upon his appointment as Commissioner of Police in April 2014, one of Mr Bush’s key moves was to promote a “Prevention First” policing model that focused on active crime prevention.

As Victoria’s top cop, Mr Bush will be tasked with steering the embattled force out of troubled waters, with the state marred by soaring youth crime, home invasions and the force battling record-low morale among frontline officers.

It comes after the Herald Sun revealed that former chief Shane Patton would be ousted by the Victorian Allan government following a devastating no-confidence union vote against him in February.

Just days later, the Herald Sun was first to reveal that Regional Operations Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson had filed corruption claims against the force about his non-reappointment to the role.

It was understood that Mr Paterson was interviewed for the top job alongside Mr Bush and ex-Queensland deputy commissioner Tracy Linford.

After Mr Patton’s axing, the government chose Rick Nugent – who was a Victoria Police deputy commissioner until he left the force in 2023 to take on the role of Emergency Management Commissioner – for the role of acting chief.

But just 41 days into his return to the force as interim chief, the Herald Sun revealed Mr Nugent had decided to step down.

The shock move came amid allegations of “inappropriate conduct ­involving a conflict of interest” that had been lodged with Victoria’s anti-corruption body, though Mr Nugent denied any wrongdoing and said the allegation was not linked to his decision not to continue.