00:00There's a new sheriff in town.
00:04Kia ora and greetings.
00:06And he hails from across the ditch.
00:08Mike Bush becoming the first foreign recruit to lead Victoria Police.
00:12And my mission is to ensure that everyone, again within the state of Victoria,
00:19not only is safe, but feels safe.
00:23Mr Bush led New Zealand Police from 2014 to 2020,
00:27overseeing the Christchurch massacre response and the White Island tragedy.
00:31He comes with a crime prevention record.
00:33Public trust went up and crime went down.
00:37You will find a guy who goes after the bad guys and pursues them
00:41and gives his men and women the tools needed to be very, very effective.
00:45It's been a tumultuous period at police command,
00:47with Shane Patton resigning after a no-confidence motion.
00:50Mike Bush walks into the job with the state facing rising crime rates
00:54and youth lawlessness, an issue he tackled in New Zealand.
00:58Providing interventions and opportunities for young people,
01:02and that's why it's a real partnership thing.
01:04It's not just for police to address that issue.
01:08It's a community issue. It's a government issue.
01:10There's a wealth of challenges that confront Mike Bush at Victoria Police.
01:14Low morale, poor culture and the recruitment and retention of staff.
01:18The decision to look outside Victoria was deliberate.
01:21The fresh set of eyes is what the government wants and needs to shake up the force.
01:26I think it was probably disappointing that we couldn't find somebody locally to do the job,
01:31but who'd want it quite frankly?
01:33We're optimistic that with change comes new opportunities for our members
01:37and for the Victorian community.
01:38And we've got morale and wellbeing issues in our force
01:41that are impeding our capacity to get out there and prevent crime.
01:45Mike Bush will take the reins in late June.
01:47He's already eyeing off changes, both cultural and on the ground.
01:51We actually exist to prevent crime and harm.
01:54So yeah, we will be taking a different look at that as to how we do that.
01:58There will definitely be more visibility.
02:00The Premier is banking on it.
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