Michael Dennis Bush is a former New Zealand police officer and forthcoming Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police. He served as the

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the New Zealand Police from April 2014 until April 2020. In May 2025, he was appointed as the next Chief Commissioner of

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and will take the office in late June.

Career

New Zealand

Bush joined the New Zealand Police in 1978, working at both CIB and Frontline Policing. As he progressed through the ranks he was appointed to senior roles, including Liaison Officer for South East Asia. This position was held by Bush at the time of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. He was the first New Zealand official on the scene of this incident, arriving on

Phuket Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...

to assist with relief. In the

2006 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2006 in some Commonwealth realms were announced (on 31 December 2005) in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Grenada, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, and Saint Christopher and Nevis to c ...

, he was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

(MNZM) for his relief work. He was also awarded the New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami) recognising this work. Upon appointment to the role of Commissioner of Police in 2014, Bush made several changes focused on operational models and culture. These included the introduction of a "Prevention First" operating model, where the primary focus of policing resources would be on

crime prevention Crime prevention refers to strategies and measures that seek to reduce the risk of crime occurring by intervening before a crime has been committed. It encompasses many approaches, including developmental, situational, community-based and crimin ...

. Bush introduced additional core values of "Empathy" and "Valuing Diversity" in an effort to make cultural changes following the 2007 Commission of Inquiry into Police. Bush was reappointed to the role of commissioner in 2017 for a second term that ran until April 2020. In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Bush was promoted to

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to the New Zealand Police and the community. The COVID-19 pandemic reached New Zealand at the end of Bush's tenure as Police Commissioner. Bush was appointed to lead the operational arm of the COVID-19 All-of-Government Response Group on 23 March 2020 and continued to hold this role after retiring from the New Zealand Police in April 2020. Since leaving the police, Bush has been working as a private investigator and runs his own international consulting firm specialising in leadership consulting, risk management and security. In 2023, Bush led the independent review into

Auckland Council Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...

's emergency management system and preparedness following the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods.

Australia

On 6 May 2025, the

Victoria State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

announced that Bush had been appointed as the

Chief Commissioner A chief commissioner is a commissioner of high rank, usually in chief of several commissioners or similarly styled officers. Colonial In British India the gubernatorial style was chief commissioner in various (not all) provinces (often after bein ...

, succeeding Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent, with his appointment to commence on 27 June 2025.

Controversies

In August 2014 Bush apologised on behalf of the police to the people of

Ruatoki Ruatoki North is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty of New Zealand, just south of the small town of Tāneatua and approximately south of the town of Whakatāne. The Whakatāne River runs northwards through the Ruatoki Valley and has formed broa ...

and Tūhoe following the actions of police in 2007 during the termination of the Operation Eight investigation into alleged terror activities. Tamati Kruger, acting as spokesman for Tūhoe, stated that the apology was well received by those present, however some

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

had declined to take part. In 2017 it was revealed that Bush had been convicted in 1983 of a drink driving offence while off-duty. From 1991 onward, new rules were introduced where this conviction would have made Bush ineligible to join the police. It was revealed that Bush had followed the correct process that included disclosing this conviction to the

State Services Commission The Public Service Commission (PSC; ), called the State Services Commission until 2020, is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing, and improving the performance of the public sector organisations ...

prior to his appointment as a Deputy Commissioner. Bush was a member of the State Services Commission panel that recommended the appointment of Wally Haumaha to a Deputy Commissioner role in June 2018. Bush was warned against this appointment by senior officers including Mike Clements, given the historic comments made by Haumaha in regards to the investigation of alleged offences against Louise Nicholas. A government inquiry into the appointment process by Mary Scholtens QC was announced to review the recruitment process, which led to Haumaha's appointment. The inquiry was welcomed by Bush.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Mike Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century New Zealand public servants 21st-century New Zealand public servants Living people New Zealand Commissioners of Police Chief Commissioners of Victoria Police Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at John Paul College, Rotorua