'She didn't display confidence' - Clinton on why Karen Webb FAILED as Commissioner
03:59 Share

Now, as I mentioned, Karen Webb is retiring. She has served us for 38 years and we owe her a great deal of gratitude for the service she's given us. 38 years in the police force and she is a very good police officer. However, she should not have been police commissioner. And there are two reasons she should not have been the leader of the police force. Firstly,

We've got to be honest about this. She did not have the ability to speak with confidence, to speak with authority when appearing in public before a camera with a microphone in front of her, whether it's an interview, whether it's a press conference. And you might say, so what? That's just superficial. But it's critical because for the leader of the police force to have reluctance when you stand up in front of the public, when you stand up in front of the press, it's

It doesn't instill confidence. And you need to show a confident, forward-facing feel when you're dealing with crime, when you're dealing with issues that scare people. You need to have our police and the leader of our police being strong. And yes, Karen Webb is a strong woman. And Karen Webb has been a fine police officer. But she didn't project that feeling.

And there were many occasions over her time, her three years in the job, where she did not take the lead. The tasering of 95-year-old Claire Nowland in Cooma. The murders of the two men by a serving police officer. And there were countless other occasions. I've seen it with my own eyes because I've been to many press conferences with Karen Webb and she's appeared on my programs over the last few years as well. And it does not mean she's not a good officer. It just means the job of being the ultimate leader was not for her.

But secondly, there is the way she was appointed. And I'm going to be blunt here. She was appointed because she's a woman. She bids out other well-credentialed men because she's female. Now, that's not to say that we shouldn't have a female leader of the police force. There have been female leaders of the police forces interstate. For instance, Christine Nixon, a former New South Wales very senior officer, was the chief commissioner in Victoria. And look, she was controversial as well. There's nothing wrong with having a female police commissioner.

But it was the way the appointment of Karen Webb came about. Dominic Perrottet had just been appointed the Premier and he replaced at the time the hugely popular Gladys Berejiklian. Paul Toole was the leader of the Nationals and was Deputy Premier. Matt Keane was the Treasurer. All the key leadership positions in the State Government at the time were held by men. And this was a problem for the Coalition. So they thought. So, and I can assure you, this is the case. This is what was happening at Parliament House.

They felt at the time that they needed a female face in what was one of the most important leadership positions in the state, given they had male faces within government. And yes, Karen Webb, very well credentialed, perfectly credentialed to be police commissioner, but she didn't have that ability to stand up in front of us and convey confidence and strength.

and other well-credentialed officers missed out on the job. Now, they may not have been wonderful police commissioners, we'll never know, because they've now moved on to other things. But in the end, Karen Webb...

She was thrown into that position when she should not have been in that position. Now, several names have been pitched up as replacements. Deputy Dave Hudson, but there's been stories that Dave Hudson's going to retire. Mick Willing. Now, he was let go when Karen Webb became police commissioner and he was apparently considered for the Victorian job. He could return. Mal Lanyon was redeployed to the North Coast Flood Recovery. He is an option. Peter Thurtell will be the acting commissioner.

Peter McKenna is also an option, a current assistant, and I've spoken to Peter McKenna several times over the years. He is outstanding. He is wonderful. We do owe a great deal of thanks to Karen Webb. Just because she wasn't cut out to be the Commissioner, and bear in mind she's leaving before her contract comes to an end, it shouldn't take away from the fact she has given us 38 years of loyal service, and that always needs to be remembered.