The former police chief in the running to replace Julie Bishop

Want to appear before Senate estimates, undergo a huge amount of scrutiny, wrangle an unruly workforce and sort out a 2IC who is only acting in the role?

Then you’re in luck, because Australia’s most scrutinised university job – the ANU chancellorship – is up for grabs!

Since Julie Bishop’s scandal-plagued tenure ended abruptly earlier this year, the nation’s university has been hand in glove with the regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Authority, looking for her replacement.

University watchers may recall that Bishop blamed the authority’s close interest in her successor as the reason she upped stumps seven months early, saying “coercive threats” and “increasingly contemptuous intervention” left her with no choice but to leave.

Canberra circles are talking about former Victoria Police head honcho and author of one of the many reports about ANU’s troubles, Christine Nixon, as a potential replacement. Nixon is said to be close to the acting chancellor, Rebecca Brown, and the pair sat down for an interview about the uni’s troubled school of health and medicine with ANU’s student rag, Woroni, last year.

Nixon became the first woman to hold the role as Victoria Police chief commissioner in 2001.

During her tenure she moved on senior police she believed were old school, banned alcohol in police stations, tried to address gender inequality and took on corruption.

She was heavily criticised in 2009, and eventually left the top job, when it was discovered she had gone ahead with a hairdressing appointment, a meeting with her biographer and dinner at a pub on Black Saturday – with her actions on the day later raked over in a royal commission into the bushfires that killed 173 people.

Nixon went on to chair the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, was deputy chancellor of Monash University from 2014 to 2020, and is chair of Leadership Victoria.

Adding to that list, she’s now an “influencer” – listed as the facilitator of a course on “influencing” being run later this month by the Institute of Public Administration Australia.

But alas, despite her credentials, one source close to ANU and its machinations reckons they won’t go with another woman for the chancellorship. Sigh!

Other names in the ring include not one, but two of Australia’s former chief scientists – Alan Finkel and Ian Chubb. Chubb, it’s worth noting, was the vice-chancellor at ANU for a decade, well before its current struggles began.

Making the cut for the ‘Diamond’ stakes

It might have been cold outside, but it was a hot August night indeed for the opening of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, arguably the biggest theatre show to open in Melbourne this year.

Newly appointed Victoria treasurer Colin Brooks – “the real Colin From Accounts” as he quipped to CBD – was among the theatre-rati, a Broadway icon and at least one billionaire who made the cut for the hottest ticket in town on Saturday evening at the Princess Theatre.

Brooks, who six days ago was sworn in as Treasurer after a cabinet reshuffle following Jacinta Allan’s demise as premier, has suddenly found himself to be very popular – now that he holds the state’s chequebook.

Melbourne’s most social ex-politician, Martin Pakula, was among the first nighters as was developer and basketball boss Larry Kestelman and wife Anita Pahor, Gaynor Wheatley, Australian Grand Prix chief executive Travis Auld and wife Megan O’Reilly, Visit Victoria chair Andy Penn and wife Kallie Blauhorn and, of course, the show’s Australian producer Paul Dainty, AO.

Stage stars David Hobson, Silvie Paladino, Amanda Harrison, Harrison Craig, Matt Hetherington, Bobby Fox and Jemma Rix walked the red carpet as did Traitors star Rob Farnham, Jaggad activewear founder Michelle Greene, former Neighbours stalwart Stefan Dennis, news reading royalty Jennifer Keyte, TV presenter Livinia Nixon, comedian Marg Downey, broadcasters Waleed Aly and Brigitte Duclos and Melbourne’s grooviest granny Patti Newton with three of her six grandchildren Eva, Lola and Monty.

Katie Diamond, Diamond’s wife, radiating quiet luxury in little black Valentino dress and Christian Louboutin heels, joined the cast on stage for the curtain call before heading to the after party where CBD spotted Richard Wilkins and his ever resplendent mane holding court at the bar.

Meanwhile, theatre nerds nearly lost their marbles when US actor Audra McDonald, married to Will Swenson who plays Neil Diamond in the show, appeared on the red carpet. McDonald, a very big deal in the theatre world having won six Tony Awards, is calling Melbourne home during her husband’s theatre run. Keep an eye out for Broadway royalty doing the school run!

Radio boss keeps keen eye on AW talent

Radio network rivalries were parked at the Love Letter To Football lunch where Triple M and Fox FM’s biggest names, Tommy Little and Mick Molloy, showed up to support 3AW’s Ross Stevenson’s annual prostate cancer research fundraising event.

Also at Marvel Stadium on Thursday getting a handle on the 400-strong crowd was Tapt Media’s Craig Laundy, the new boss of 3AW.

Established a decade ago by Stevenson, the Love Letter to Football lunch sees five high-profile Victorians read their “love letter” to the game with funds raised going to the Australian Prostate Centre.

Speakers this year were Molloy, Little, Bec Daniher, and Olympic greats Steve Hooker and Ariarne Titmus.

Molloy started his letter with an apology: “Just before I get into it, I would like to start with my traditional apology for all the things I have said past, present and future” – and then dropped an f-bomb.

Daniher attended with her six-week-old son Ted Neale Daniher-Howell, whose name honours her late father Neale, the founder of FightMND.

Among the crowd were Professor Tony Costello, Sam Pang, Bill Guest, former lord mayor Sally Capp, former chief executive of the Melbourne Fashion Festival Caroline Ralphsmith, Visit Victoria board member Deb Beale, singer Mike Brady, author Jason Kimberley and Stevenson’s breakfast co-host Russel Howcroft.

Spotted paying very close attention to the proceedings – in fact, doing some reconnaissance – was AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon. Turns out he has signed up as a letter writer for next year’s event.

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