New rebuilding chief Nixon checks blaze damage town

FORMER chief police commissioner Christine Nixon visited fire-ravaged Tonimbuk to get a first-hand look at the aftermath of Black Saturday.
Ms Nixon, the head of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, visited the small town on Thursday afternoon as part of an effort to co-ordinate community recovery across Victoria.
Cardinia Shire mayor Bill Pearson welcomed Ms Nixon, Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction Bill Shorten and other members of the authority.
“We are committed to the rebuilding and recovery effort and encourage a robust and wide-reaching review that will help us all to learn and gain from what has been a truly horrific experience,” Cr Pearson said.
He said firefighters had done a great job in ensuring no lives and minimal houses were lost from the Bunyip State Park inferno.
Ms Nixon talked to Tonimbuk residents about their fire experiences.
She also visited Labertouche and was told that fence repairs and the availability of grants were the main issues of those landholders.