Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to rise to make my contribution to this condolence motion, acknowledging the memory and the contribution of the late Senator Jim Molan AO, DSC, former major general in the Australian Army.

First of all, amongst his many characteristics, Jim Molan was a family man. He was very proud of his family, and I certainly want to express my condolences to his wife, Anne; daughters, Sarah, Erin and Felicity; son, Michael; and five grandchildren. Each of his children has built a successful career, but, as minister for communications, I had the privilege of working with Jim's daughter Erin on the question of online safety, where she's been a very strong advocate. And she very effectively lent her standing in the community to a very, very important area of public policy. The Online Safety Act that we were able to pass through the parliament in 2021 owed its success in material measure, in significant measure, to the advocacy and support of Erin Molan. I know that Jim was very, very proud of the work that Erin did in this area, as he was very proud of all his children. He consistently posted on social media about the work that Erin was doing in these online safety reforms.

Of course, while Jim Molan was first and foremost a family man, he was also a very distinguished and committed Australian patriot, whether through his service over many years in our armed forces or his services in our parliament.

He was a man of very high integrity who always put the interests of his constituents and of the nation at the very centre of his concerns. He served our country with distinction as a major-general in the Australian Defence Force. He played a crucial role in shaping our military strategies, and his role as chief of operations in Iraq was a high point of his career. He represented Australia with great distinction in that multinational force and in the work and the deliberations that went on in directing those extensive operations.

As is well known, his military expertise in developing and executing what became known as Operation Sovereign Borders was drawn upon by the Liberal-National government and, indeed, before that in opposition. We were as an opposition and subsequently as the government determined to stop the dangerous trade of the people smugglers. We knew that regrettably many lives were lost as desperate people took journeys that were organised by criminal gangs, and it was very important that this be stopped in a way that was effective, humane and consistent with Australian values.

Jim's advice on the difficult work of developing and implementing those policies was of the first importance. Prime Minister Abbott appointed him special envoy for Operation Sovereign Borders. That allowed him to travel, particularly across South-East Asia, to work with like-minded nations and regional partners to develop and implement the anti-people-smuggling measures that were so important. Jim's military career was long and storied. He was held in high esteem by his colleagues, from infantrymen to his fellow senior officers, and he was recognised rightly for his bravery and his leadership.

Subsequent to his time in the military he became involved in politics. He set out to familiarise himself with the complex beast that is the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party, and he did so with great success. Many people seek to be preselected to a winnable spot on the Liberal Party's New South Wales Senate ticket, but very few people achieve it. Jim managed to achieve it in a remarkably short period of time and he built up a cadre of devoted supporters across the entire New South Wales division of the party. Once he got to the Senate he brought to bear his enormous wealth of knowledge and experience. He was a respected voice on many important issues: defence, foreign affairs and immigration. His contributions to the Senate and to our national discourse will have a lasting impact on our national policies.

Just last year he released his second book, Danger On Our Doorstep regarding the security environment in the Indo-Pacific. His first book, Running the War in Iraq, gave his insider account of the very senior role he played in that conflict and in the multinational force which ultimately included some 300,000 troops from many countries.

As well as his characteristic as a family man and his distinguished achievements as both a military man and a politician, I want to conclude with some observations about Jim's character and the way that he conducted himself and the impact that he had on others. Jim was a kind and generous man and formed friendships easily. He was a towering figure figuratively and literally, and he was known for his infectious smile, warm personality and genuine concern for others.

Jim was known to treat everybody with good grace and respect. Certainly I well recollect the time when he came to address the Bradfield federal electorate conference in my electorate. He was very warmly received by my local Liberal Party members, and that is indicative of the regard in which he was held amongst Liberal Party numbers and amongst members of the community more broadly—certainly across the North Shore of Sydney but across New South Wales.

At Jim's funeral recently in Canberra, there were many stories told of his character and the respect in which was held by others. One of those stories concerned his focus on ensuring that his troops were fit and disciplined and prepared for what conflict might bring, through his practice of holding 24-hour marches with just five minutes rest each hour. After the formal part of the funeral I caught up with Father Rob Sutherland, who's well known to me as a former rector of St John's church in Gordon in my electorate, and he's a longstanding ADF chaplain. Rob told me something I hadn't known before: that he had served under Jim's leadership and he had personal experience of the 24-hour marches. He was able to confirm that they had in fact occurred. But Rob also told me how Jim had backed him strongly when Rob first set out to transition towards a career as an Australian Defence Force chaplain. Like the hundreds of people at that service, Rob Sutherland's life was touched positively by Jim Molan, and the number of people who turned out was a strong indicator of the lives that he had impacted. Jim Molan's legacy will live on through the countless Australians he's helped and through the many important causes he has championed.

Let me close by again expressing my condolences to Jim's family; to all who worked with him in the Australian Defence Force; to his staff here in parliament; and to my parliamentary colleagues. Collectively, all of us will greatly miss him and remember and honour his memory.

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