Joel Andrew Fitzgibbon (born 16 January 1962) is a retired Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and represented the New South Wales seat of Hunter in the Australian House of Representatives from 1996 to 2022, a period of 26 years. He served as Minister for Defence (2007–2009) in the First Rudd Government and as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2013) in the Second Rudd Government. He was also Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives (2010–2013) during the Gillard Government.
Fitzgibbon succeeded his father Eric Fitzgibbon in federal parliament. He is aligned with the Centre Unity faction in NSW, part of the federal Labor Right faction. He served as convenor of the NSW Right faction in federal parliament. Following Labor's defeat at the 2019 Australian federal election, he became a vocal critic of stronger climate change policies within his party, arguing that more ambitious emissions targets would cost Labor its blue-collar base.
Fitzgibbon was born on 16 January 1962 in Bellingen, New South Wales. He grew up in the Hunter Region and trained as an automotive electrician, working in that trade from 1978 to 1990. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration from the University of Newcastle.
Fitzgibbon's father, Eric Fitzgibbon, was the federal Labor member for Hunter from 1984 to 1996. Joel served as his father's electorate officer from 1990 until 1996. He also worked as a part-time TAFE lecturer and small business operator during this period.
Fitzgibbon served on the Cessnock City Council from 1987 to 1995, including as Deputy Mayor from 1989 to 1990. He was simultaneously active in the ALP, serving as secretary of the ALP Hunter Federal Electorate Council from 1990 to 1996 and as a delegate to the ALP State Conference (NSW) from 1990. He also served as NSW ALP Campaign Director in 1991 and 1995.
Federal parliament (1996–2022)
Fitzgibbon won ALP preselection for the seat of Hunter following his father's retirement prior to the 1996 Australian federal election. Hunter is one of Labor's few country strongholds, having been in Labor hands without interruption since 1910. He suffered a seven-point swing against him in 1996 but held the seat, and was subsequently re-elected at the 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019 elections.
Fitzgibbon was elected to the opposition shadow ministry in October 1998 and was appointed Shadow Minister for Small Business and Tourism, a role he held until 2001. He was subsequently appointed Shadow Minister for Mining, Energy and Forestry (2003–2005), before being appointed shadow assistant treasurer and shadow minister for revenue and for small business and competition in June 2005.
In early December 2006, when Kevin Rudd became Leader of the Opposition, Fitzgibbon was appointed Shadow Minister for Defence. He was subsequently appointed to the full ministerial role when Labor won office at the 2007 Australian federal election.
Minister for Defence (2007–2009)
Fitzgibbon was sworn in as Minister for Defence on 3 December 2007 in the First Rudd Government.
On 2 May 2009, Fitzgibbon and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd released the Defence White Paper titled Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030, the first such paper since the Howard Government's 2000 White Paper. The White Paper argued that Australia's core strategic interests lay in the Asia-Pacific region, emphasised China's growing military strength, predicted a decline in US primacy in the Asia-Pacific, and advocated a A$100 billion upgrade of Australia's naval and air force power over 20 years.
The White Paper confirmed the government's plan to acquire around 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for the Royal Australian Air Force.
Helen Liu affair and resignation
In March 2009, Fairfax Media reported that Fitzgibbon had failed to declare two trips to China paid for by Helen Liu (also known as Liu Haiyan), a wealthy Chinese-Australian businesswoman with extensive connections to senior Chinese government and military officials. Fairfax also alleged that Defence Department officials had conducted a covert investigation into Fitzgibbon's relationship with Liu, believing it constituted a security risk, including alleged access to the computer network in his parliamentary office. Fitzgibbon denied wrongdoing and a subsequent inquiry by the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security found no evidence that the Defence Signals Directorate or any Defence official had secretly investigated the minister.
Fitzgibbon resigned as Minister for Defence on 4 June 2009 after admitting that meetings held between his brother Mark Fitzgibbon, the chief executive of health insurer NIB, and Defence officials concerning business opportunities had breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct. Prime Minister Rudd accepted the resignation, stating that the minister had "made mistakes related to accountability". He was succeeded as Defence Minister by John Faulkner.
Chief Government Whip (2010–2013)
Following his re-election at the 2010 Australian federal election, Fitzgibbon was elected by the Labor caucus as Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives, a position he held throughout the Gillard Government from 19 October 2010 until 1 July 2013.