Premier John Brumby knew of Christine Nixon's plans to quit as head of bushfire reconstruction authority

VICTORIAN Premier John Brumby has admitted that he knew Christine Nixon was going to step down from her bushfires reconstruction post today.

VICTORIAN Premier John Brumby has admitted that he knew Christine Nixon was going to step down from her bushfires reconstruction post today.

As the opposition questioned the “extraordinary timing” of the embattled former police chief’s announcement, just hours after the federal election was called, Mr Brumby revealed he was told this week about her plans.

Mr Brumby said in a statement that he received a letter from Ms Nixon late this week saying she was going to resign as the head of the Victorian Bushfires Reconstruction and Recovery Authority today.

“I spoke with Ms Nixon late yesterday about her decision and I thanked her for her service to the State of Victoria,” Mr Brumby said.

The resignation comes just two weeks before the final report of the Bushfires Royal Commission is due to be presented to the government.

The Premier, who has been an avid supporter of the former police chief, thanked Ms Nixon for her work in the recovery from the bushfires.

“Ms Nixon willingly stepped forward to take on this difficult task and I am grateful to her for the work she has done,” he said. “I wish Christine well in the future and I thank her for all she has done to help communities, families and individuals rebuild their lives.”

Opposition leader Ted Baillieu said it was now up to Mr Brumby and his office to reveal what role they played in the extraordinary timing of Ms Nixon's resignation.

He said he had believed for a long time that Ms Nixon's position was untenable and she had lost respect of the people she was supposed to be helping out.

Ms Nixon came under heavy criticism for her performance on Black Saturday and the evidence she gave to the Royal Commission about her movements on that day.

She told a meeting of community representatives today that she would step down and take on voluntarily duties.

Ms Nixon had previously steadfastly refused to resign on a number of occasions amid the controversy of the past six months.

Counsel assisting the Royal Commission, Jack Rush, accused Ms Nixon of a “deliberate omission” by initially failing to tell the commission she went home at 6pm and then to a pub for dinner where she was unable to continuously monitor the fires that killed 173 people on February 7 last year.

Mr Rush claimed Ms Nixon “attempted to deceive” the commission in her original statement and evidence.

He said Ms Nixon knew when she left the state's integrated emergency co-ordination centre at 6pm on February 7, after fire had destroyed Strathewen and Kinglake and was roaring towards Marysville, that the state was facing a disaster.

The fires were then reaching “their predictable climax”, he said, and her departure was “entirely inconsistent” with her several key roles of chief commissioner of police, deputy co-ordinator-in-chief of emergency management and co-ordinator of the state's disaster plan.

“In the submission of counsel assisting, it is not unrealistic to expect the state's most senior leaders to have an engagement, an involvement and a dedication to the unfolding disaster,” Mr Rush said.

Lawyers acting for Ms Nixon strenuously denied these claims, saying they were “evil”.

Ms Nixon also admitted she went to the hairdressers on the day Black Saturday and also kept an appointment with her biographer.

Victorian Premier John Brumby has backed Ms Nixon throughout the year, saying at most he was “disappointed” with her actions on February 7 but refused to sack her or call for her resignation.