Latest news with #JoelFitzgibbon
Sky News AU
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Coalition split ‘going to be messy' for Australian democracy
Former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon discusses the impact of the recent Coalition split on Australian democracy. 'Without some form of Coalition, we can't have a strong parliamentary democracy,' Mr Fitzgibbon told Sky News Australia. 'I think all of us are relying upon them to sort their stuff out and start rebuilding for the next election. 'If they don't, it's going to be messy for our parliamentary democracy.'
Sky News AU
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Albanese will win majority government: Former Labor minister
Former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon has predicted the Albanese government will win a majority government.
Daily Mail
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Joel Fitzgibbon's full Anzac Day address at North Bondi dawn service
Joel Fitzgibbon served as the Labor Member for Hunter from 1996 to 2022. He held several ministerial roles, including Minister for Defence under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Tragically, his son, Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon, died on 6 March 2024, following a parachuting accident during a routine Australian Defence Force training exercise at RAAF Base Richmond in Sydney. Jack, aged 33, was a member of the elite 2nd Commando Regiment and an experienced parachutist. Mr Fitzgibbon's Anzac Day Dawn service speech at North Bondi has been praised by many Aussies for greatly honouring he memory of his son and others who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country. Read it in full below. On this day 110 years ago – early morning, dark, freezing cold, and in a shower of bullets – thousands of Australian and New Zealand troops stormed the beaches of the Gallipoli Peninsula. They did so against all odds, let down by those who planned their mission. Despite that, they did all that was asked of them and more. By the end of the day 600 Australian soldiers had sacrificed their lives. By the end of the campaign, around 6,000 more fell with their faces to the foe. Thousands more were wounded, many for life. The ANZAC legend was born. Today we honour them, and we thank them for their deeds and their sacrifice. Just as we pay tribute today, to all those who have been inspired by them and have given their own lives defending – or training to defend – our national interest. More than one hundred thousand of them. The overwhelming majority of them, volunteers. But in this increasingly uncertain world, we must do more than honour them and thank them. That's easy. We must show how much we mean it, by ensuring their legacy lives on, and their deeds were not in vain. We owe it to them, to be as committed to the defence of our national interests as they were – today, tomorrow and beyond. To protect what we've built and what we stand for – our values and our commitment to democracy and its institutions. This we owe them. ANZAC Day – our most solemn day – is as much about our future as it is about our past. It must be. As we gather this morning, our men and women in uniform are pausing to reflect too. Some of them are with us. Like the rest of us, they'll be drawing strength from the deeds of those who marched before them. But they'll soon be back at it, preparing to venture into harm's way in our name. Preparing to put their lives on the line – for us. Pushing themselves to their physical and mental limits. Honing their skills and procedures. Thinking about the relative strengths and capability of the foe they might face. Any day. Yet as a civilian community, complacency has grown amongst us. The history of the world is largely a story of war. It's the one great constant. Yet some amongst us act as if they believe human nature has changed. As if the world has matured beyond the futility of war, and now clearly sees the folly of it. That is despite, the conflicts currently playing out in the Middle East and Ukraine. Despite rising tensions in our own region – in our own back yard. Just as we in the West appear to have lost the will to reproduce ourselves in sufficient number, we seem to have lost the will to adequately protect ourselves. Peace is worth fighting for, but avoiding conflict is a better option. To maintain peace in our region we must maintain vigilance. That means more than just hoping for a capable Defence Force, the will must be there too. That means we need our people – all of us, including our young people – to appreciate that we need the capacity to deter an enemy and if necessary, to defeat an enemy. Not just as a defence force but as a nation. And we will only have a nation capable of doing so, if that's the message we are constantly sending our political leaders. If it's our priority, it will continue to be a priority for them – it's up to us.. Defence policy should be a matter of absolute bipartisanship. The financial cost of it demands it. The complexity of it demands it. The challenges of it demand it. And the need for it demands it. We owe our fallen no less. We owe it to those who have returned but lived – or will live – shorter lives due to injury or mental trauma. And we owe our living veterans no less – those who served in the Second World War, Korea, the Malayan Emergency, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, East Timor, Afghanistan, Solomon Islands and every deployment before, since, and in between. And we owe our nation no less, including those who made significant sacrifices on the home front, and those who lost a partner, a parent, a son or daughter, or a brother and sister.
West Australian
25-04-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
‘Lost the will to protect ourselves': Ex minister Joel Fitzgibbon blasts Australia's complacency on defence
A former Labor defence minister has issued a withering assessment of Australia's complacency in the face of looming conflict, urging bipartisanship and stronger will to build up the Defence Force. Joel Fitzgibbon used an Anzac Day address to warn the western world has 'lost the will to adequately protect ourselves' despite rising tensions across the globe. His intervention comes amid calls for defence experts from both sides of politics to take seriously the urgent need to better prepare for war, and an election fight over funding levels. Mr Fitzgibbon – whose son Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon died last year after a parachuting accident during Air Force training – said Anzac Day should be a time to think about Australia's future as much as its past. In honouring those who had served the country, he said leaders must show they meant it by ensuring their deeds were not in vain. 'We owe it to them, to be as committed to the defence of our national interests as they were – today, tomorrow and beyond,' he told the dawn service in North Bondi. 'Yet as a civilian community, complacency has grown amongst us.' He feared this was despite a history in which war was the one great constant, conflicts underway in the Middle East and Ukraine and rising tensions in Australia's own backyard. 'Just as we in the West appear to have lost the will to reproduce ourselves in sufficient number, we seem to have lost the will to adequately protect ourselves,' Mr Fitzgibbon said. 'Peace is worth fighting for, but avoiding conflict is a better option. 'To maintain peace in our region we must maintain vigilance. That means more than just hoping for a capable Defence Force, the will must be there too. 'That means we need our people – all of us, including our young people – to appreciate that we need the capacity to deter an enemy and, if necessary, to defeat an enemy. Not just as a defence force but as a nation.' But the former minister said the nation would only be capable of this if Australians were sending that message constantly to political leaders. 'If it's our priority, it will continue to be a priority for them. It's up to us,' he said. The Coalition on Wednesday announced it would add $21 billion to Defence spending over the next five years to boost it to 2.5 per cent of GDP. It wants to reach 3 per cent of GDP within a decade. But Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was unable to say what the money would be used for beyond a fourth squadron of F-35 fighter jets. Labor is on track to increase the defence budget to 2.3 per cent of GDP by 2033. The disparity sparked a political squabble over which side was doing what Australia actually needed. Analysts have concerns that merely throwing more money at defence won't solve decades of cumbersome procurement processes that have left gaps in Australia's capabilities. There are also fears that the mammoth commitment to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS is cannibalising other parts of defence both in terms of budget and attention. But at the same time, it's unclear that AUKUS preparations are moving as fast as they need to be, especially in WA where major upgrades are needed around HMAS Stirling and the Henderson shipbuilding and maintenance precinct. The Trump administration has called for Australian defence spending to reach 3 per cent rapidly to counter China's rise. Mining magnate Gina Rinehart, a Trump admirer, used a speech on the eve of Anzac Day to call for it to be hiked to 5 per cent. Mr Fitzgibbon said defence policy should always be a matter of 'absolute bipartisanship'. 'The financial cost of it demands it, the complexity of it demands it, the challenges of it demand it, and the need for it demands it,' he said. 'We owe our fallen no less. We owe it to those who have returned but lived – or will live – shorter lives due to injury or mental trauma. 'We owe our living veterans no less … and we owe our nation no less, including those who made significant sacrifices on the home front, and those who lost a partner, a parent, a son or daughter, or a brother and sister.'
