Former police chief Christine Nixon for surgery after quitting bushfire authority

Christine Nixon will undergo surgery today after being rushed to hospital with severe abdominal pain just hours after quitting as head of the bushfire reconstruction authority.

FORMER Victorian police chief Christine Nixon will undergo surgery today after being rushed to hospital with severe abdominal pain early yesterday morning, just hours after quitting as head of the bushfire reconstruction authority.

Questions are still being asked about the controversial timing of her announcement - on the same day the federal election was called - and what the Brumby government knew about it.

The opposition has called for Ms Nixon's resignation to trigger an overhaul of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, saying it is failing in its job to rebuild communities.

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said the Brumby government should appoint a minister directly responsible for the recovery effort and give them clear authority to hasten the reconstruction of businesses and homes. "There are hundreds of people struggling on the ground," Mr Baillieu said.

Ms Nixon was taken by ambulance to hospital after she woke with stomach pains at about 3am. It is understood she had been in discomfort during a community dinner held on Saturday evening. She has been diagnosed with a gall bladder problem.

Ms Nixon had been under intense pressure to resign since it was revealed she left the state emergency control centre at 6pm on February 7 last year, Black Saturday, to meet friends for dinner at a nearby gourmet pub.

She also admitted she went to the hairdresser and met her biographer on that day, despite authorities issuing public warnings fire conditions were going to be the worst in the state's history.

Ms Nixon is expected to be heavily criticised for her lack of leadership and her testimony to the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission when the final report is tabled in parliament in less than two weeks.

Counsel assisting the commission, Jack Rush QC, recommended Ms Nixon be found to have misled the inquiry after she initially failed to tell it about her exact whereabouts on the night of the fires, which killed 173 people.

Ms Nixon had fended off calls for her resignation for months. Premier John Brumby, a staunch supporter of Ms Nixon as chief commissioner and head of the reconstruction and recovery effort, said he received a letter from her last week and spoke to her on Friday afternoon about her decision. She announced her resignation at a gathering of bushfire survivors the next day.

Mr Baillieu believes Victorians will question the "extraordinary timing" of the announcement.

Mr Brumby and Ms Nixon - who will receive no payout after walking away from her one-year contract - have denied it was timed to hide behind the start of the federal campaign.

"Christine understands people have been critical of the timing of her announcement, but stands by her decision to make sure the people from community recovery committees . . . were the first to know of her change in role," her spokeswoman said yesterday.