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Victoria’s top cop Mike Bush apologises for using police helicopter to fly to Tasmania

Victoria’s top cop has apologised for making the “wrong decision” to take a police helicopter to Tasmania to attend a work conference.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush travelled to Hobart via a Victoria Police Air Wing on Monday afternoon for the annual Australian and New Zealand Police Commissioners Forum.
Bush has admitted in a statement it was not the right decision and accepted he should have “looked harder for a commercial flight” for his interstate trip.

“While there were no impacts on our operational capacity, community safety or financial costs to Victoria Police as the flight fell within our contracted hours with the air wing provider, it creates a poor impression at a challenging time for our organisation,” Bush said.
A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed Bush took a secondary Air Wing to Hobart for a “critical” meeting.
This type of chopper is predominantly is used for training flights and acts as a back-up for the primary helicopter.

“This meeting informs critical cross-border police operations, key decisions around national security, and the deployment of police both in Victoria and interstate,” the spokesperson said.
“Using the fixed wing police aircraft was assessed but deemed unviable due to strong winds in Tasmania.
“Victoria Police has a set number of monthly flying hours that are paid for, as per the commercial agreement with the company our aircraft are leased from.
“This threshold will not be exceeded for October, hence there was no additional financial cost associated with this flight.”

The spokesperson noted that this is the first time Commissioner Bush has used the Air Wing chopper for travel.
“He has previously flown on the Air Wing’s fixed wing aircraft to Porepunkah following the police shootings, however this was only one-way,” the statement added.
“The Chief Commissioner and his staff officer will return to Melbourne on a commercial flight.”
The police helicopter costs an estimated $10,000 for every hour it is in the sky.
Victoria’s Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio told ABC Radio Melbourne that Bush’s decision to take the chopper was a mistake but acknowledged it did not put anyone at risk.
“It shouldn’t have happened, he’s apologised for it,” she said.
“I think that what’s important here is to reflect on the fact that there was no impact on community safety.
“No-one’s safety was put at risk by this action and there was no additional cost to Victorians.”

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