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Event Speaker: The Honorable Joel Fitzgibbon
Affiliation: Australian Defense Minister
The Honorable Joel Fitzgibbon MP, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 to represent the Hunter electorate in New South Wales. He was appointed as Minister for Defence in the first Rudd Government Ministry in 2007. Before the 2007 Federal Election, Mr Fitzgibbon held numerous Shadow Ministerial positions including Shadow Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Shadow Minister for Resources, Shadow Minister for Mining, Energy and Forestry, Shadow Minister for Banking and Financial Services, Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Revenue, Shadow Minister for Small Business and Competition, and Shadow Minister for Defence.
Mr Fitzgibbon has served on the House of Representatives Committees on Primary Industries, Resources and Rural and Regional Affairs, Industry and Resources, and Economics, Finance and Public Administration. Mr Fitzgibbon also served on the Joint Statutory Committees for Public Accounts and Audit, and the Joint Select Committee for the Retailing Sector.
After leaving high school Mr Fitzgibbon trained as an auto-electrician and ran his own business for more than ten years. Between 1987 and 1995 he served on Cessnock City Council and was Deputy Mayor of the City between 1998 and 1989. Mr Fitzgibbon was also a Director of the Hunter-Manning Tourism Authority from 1987 to 1989
Mr Fitzgibbon was born in Bellingen, NSW, in 1962. He attended Maitland Marist Brothers and St Patrick's Primary, Cessnock. In addition to his trade qualifications Mr Fitzgibbon holds a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration from the University of Newcastle.
An avid sportsman in his youth, Mr Fitzgibbon played for the Cessnock Goannas in the Newcastle first-grade rugby league competition. He is a proud member of the Australian Parliamentary rugby team - and led the Parliamentarians to victory in the 2008 inaugural match against a team from the Australian Defence Force. His favorite sporting team is the Newcastle Knights. Mr Fitzgibbon lives with his wife Dianne, and their children in Cessnock NSW.