Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

It's an honour, albeit a very sad one, to make a contribution to this motion for our colleague Jim Molan AO, DSC. Jim was a soldier, a pilot, an author, a volunteer firefighter, a senator, a family man and somebody I was very proud to call my friend. He was born in Melbourne on 11 April 1950 to Noni and World War II veteran Andrew. Jim dreamt of being a soldier from his early days. In January 1968, during the Vietnam War, Jim was admitted to Duntroon—the very place we farewelled him only weeks ago, some 55 years later. Jim completed university degrees in arts and economics and later became fluent in Indonesian. He served in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps, rising through the ranks of the 1st, 3rd and 6th battalions to become a commanding officer.

His training was in companies intending to go to Vietnam, and Jim was keen to serve there. But when the conflict ended, he was given, as he called it, the 'consolation prize' of three years in Papua New Guinea during the country's transition to independence and its move towards a democratic system in 1975. It was the first of 35 moves to come for Jim, his wife, Anne, whom he met as an officer cadet and married in 1972, and their family. In 1992, as a colonel, Jim was posted to Jakarta as the Australian Defence Force attache, where he served until 1994. In 1998, as a brigadier, he returned to Jakarta as Defence Force attache for another two years, where he saw firsthand the chaos following the fall of President Suharto, the Asian financial crisis and East Timor's vote for independence.

In 1999, he joined the Australian Army deployment in East Timor. I was lucky enough to serve as Minister for Veterans' Affairs in a previous government, and Jim was keen to get me up to speed with his work there for reasons I will elaborate on shortly. He'd written about his experiences in East Timor, reasonably briefly, in his book, Running the War in Iraq. In August 2021, he dropped around a signed copy to my office here at Parliament House. Before signing the inside cover, he'd written the words, 'A soldier's story'. It certainly was that. I wasn't in the office at the time, but when I got back I immediately started flipping through the pages and came across a photo of a dashing young Jim about to join the Army. I sent him a text with the photo to thank him for the book but also stating that for a moment I thought I was reading GQ 1968. Jim texted back, 'God I was good-looking once,' before adding a series of laughing emojis, and then on a more serious note referring me to the pages on East Timor that he wanted me to read. He was warm and engaging and had a very dry, self-deprecating sense of humour. The reason he wanted me up to speed on East Timor was because, as a incredibly proud Australian, he strongly believed the story of the contribution of our nation and all who served there should be told.

One very important way that the stories of our overseas deployments are told is through Australia's official histories, and Jim came to see me about the official history relating to East Timor. The production of the official histories falls under the responsibility of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Jim was very concerned that the official histories were being blocked and that politics were at play, and Jim certainly knew a thing or two about that. Jim was diplomatic, but he suspected that the issue may have been that some in Australia's foreign policy establishment were concerned about the judgment of history and that it may not be a kind one. I believe that he was right about that and that the histories were in peril.

At Jim 's behest, I took a very strong interest in the progress of the histories and even obtained a draft to read. He was very passionate about this issue, as was his friend Tony Abbott. It took some wrangling and an interesting and illuminating journey through the workings of government, but the official histories eventually got moving. In December last year, Born of Fire and Ash: Australian operations in response to the East Timor crisis 1999-2000 was published. I'm told it will be officially launched soon. It only came into existence because those like Jim Molan took a stand and felt fiercely and deeply that telling this story was the right thing to do. He did it for Australia and its veterans. And, when you step back and think about it, it's the story of how Australia, against the odds, ended up back on the right side of history, and Jim was very proud of that. And that was Jim.

Jim had great courage, both in the corridors of power in Canberra and out in the field. This was clearly demonstrated at Baucau Airport during the East Timor crisis when Jim saved the life of Bishop Belo and quite possibly many other evacuees. Jim was sent to organise the evacuation of UN workers and others, including the Bishop. Armed gangs of militia wanted the Bishop dead and weren't too keen on Australian soldiers either. The evacuees were to get out of Baucau on a couple of Australian C-130 Hercules, but the armed militia blocked the runway. The planes were going nowhere. It was tense—very tense. In a lengthy negotiation, an unarmed Jim faced the militia alone. At times, they drew weapons. As the day wore on, Jim negotiated for UN helicopters to come in and evacuate about 40 children and adults to Dili before all evacuees were allowed to board and the jam-packed planes eventually departed.

About 18 months ago I was in my office signing correspondence and had a documentary on in the background. It was called The Australian SAS: The untold history. The episode I saw was on East Timor. The documentary gave an account of the stand-off on the runway and how the militia fired off a few rounds at a departing Hercules as it headed to Darwin. When I saw Jim next, I asked about the documentary. When I suggested the whole thing must have been terrifying, he just chuckled and said words to the effect that he was just doing what he had to do, just doing his job and he hadn't seen the documentary. And that was definitely how he saw it. In his book, he recounted how, later that day, the satisfaction of the Prime Minister about the successful evacuation was passed on to him. Jim said he was amazed at how quickly he had moved it to the back of his mind, as they'd bounced from one drama to the next. It was just another day in East Timor.

That may be so, but I can tell you this: those evacuees were incredibly lucky to have had Brigadier Jim Molan in their corner that day. With so many civilians on board, as well as armed Australian SAS, the whole operation could easily have turned bad, very, very quickly.

Jim was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2000 and became Commander of the Australian Defence College. In 2004, he was posted to Baghdad as deputy chief of staff for operations for the new multinational force. Later, as chief of staff, he effectively commanded a force of approximately 300,000, including more than 130,000 Americans, with the rest drawn from Iraq and some 28 other nations. In Jim's words, his role was to run the war on behalf of the US general who was in charge. The Americans wanted to put a non-American face to the war, and Jim got the job. At one stage during his time in this role, he was commanding more troops than any Australian had since World War II.

And, if all those achievements weren't enough, Jim became Senator Molan in 2017, and his service to our nation continued. He had a great affinity and affection for the Central West of New South Wales, and he visited on a number of occasions. He was a passionate advocate for expanding Australia's defence manufacturing capability and self-reliance.

The general public of our region would not be aware, but Jim was also a passionate advocate for defence manufacturing in Lithgow at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. It has been making rifles for Australia since the First World War. When Jim heard that small arms manufacturing in Lithgow may be in peril, he immediately came to see me to let me know that he was in Lithgow's corner and that he was also in my corner. And he was true to his word. He was a powerful and energetic advocate for continuing manufacturing in the city. In so doing, he helped lay down a marker that defence manufacturing in Lithgow must not cease. The small arms factory in Lithgow remains, and, to this day, continues to play a vital role in our country's national security.

I was always very impressed with Jim's vast knowledge of the defence and security sectors. His knowledge was encyclopedic. I was frankly always baffled that his party never made more use of his huge talents. I know I'm not alone in these thoughts. Politics is not a meritocracy, and that's a shame.

The life of Jim Molan was truly extraordinary. He was a man of great courage, conviction and decency. I always enjoyed his company and hearing his insights and well-informed opinions. Determined to keep Australia strong and free, he brought unparalleled experience to our parliament. I respected him enormously. He was a great Australian who will be greatly missed. Farewell, Jim Molan. I convey the sincere and heartfelt condolences of the Calare electorate and our region to his family, friends and fellow veterans.

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