Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I pay tribute to Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon and thank him for his service to our nation. Lance Corporal Fitzgibbon passed away on 7 March after being injured during a training exercise at RAAF Base Richmond the previous evening. He was surrounded by his family and was just 33 years of age. Despite being so young, Jack had served with the ADF for over 10 years, six years in special forces. He was a qualified military freefaller within the Defence Force Special Operations Command's 2nd Commando Regiment, and he was an experienced parachutist, having done 106 jumps, 95 of them as military freefall.

Jack was promoted from private to lance corporal last year. He had previously deployed to assist in the floods in 2022 and, prior to that, he was deployed to Papua New Guinea. Jack was awarded the Australian Defence Medal, the Operational Service Badge, the military and operational service medal and the counterterrorism/special recovery medal.

Jack was, of course, the son of my good mate Joel Fitzgibbon, the former member for Hunter. The Fitzgibbon family is synonymous with the Newcastle and Hunter region. Joel's father and Jack's grandfather, Eric, was the member for Hunter in this place for many, many years. Our hearts bleed for the Fitzgibbon family.

Jack was born and raised in the Hunter. He went to school locally and he personified the spirit of that region—a larrikin with a cheeky grin who loved his community. Like his grandfather and his dad, he played for the local rugby league team, the Cessnock Goannas, and they had a heartfelt tribute to Jack at a recent event. But, most importantly, Jack was a son, a brother and a brother-in-law and will be sadly missed by his family.

There's no higher honour than serving the people of our nation, and Jack did that with dedication and distinction. To ensure that our Australian Defence Force is as best prepared as possible for a mission, they train in the most realistic conditions as possible. The special forces are the elite of the elite. They are the ones who we send into the most dangerous situations. On many occasions those special forces may be required to insert themselves in hostile territory, beyond enemy lines, in all types of conditions, and that includes parachuting at night.

Jack was certainly experienced in this. As I said earlier, he'd done 106 jumps. He was well trained and very experienced. But, of course, with any style of exercise such as that, there comes risk. Jack accepted that risk and chose to serve. That takes selflessness, courage and honour, and Jack is that courage and honour that is so proudly represented by the men and women of Australia who wear the Australian Defence Force uniform. We in this place and the people of Australia honour Jack. We thank him for his courage and for his selfless service to our country.

To the Fitzgibbon family, to Joel, Dianne, Caitlin, Grace and Maxine, I offer my sincerest condolences on behalf of the people of Kingsford Smith. We offer you our love and support. Life is not meant to be like this; you're not meant to bury your kids. The Fitzgibbon family are going through something that no family should have to experience, but they should do so knowing that everyone in this place and the people of Australia—and, most importantly, Jack's comrades, his brothers and sisters in arms—offer their love and complete support for the family. We also thank you, the Fitzgibbon family, for your courage and for your sacrifice through the service of your son to the Australian Defence Force. Vale, Jack Fitzgibbon. Thank you for your service to our nation.

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