THE HON. JOEL FITZGIBBON MP

Member for Hunter

The Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP, was first elected to the House of Representatives in March of 1996 to represent the Hunter electorate in New South Wales. He served as Minister for Defence in the first Rudd Government between December 2007 and June 2009.

Prior to 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. He currently serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade, the House of Representatives Economics Committee and is the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Country Task Force.

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 1989 and 1990.

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.

A former player himself, Mr Fitzgibbon’s favourite sport is Rugby League and he is the Parton of both the Newcastle Knights and his former club, Cessnock.  Mr Fitzgibbon lives with his wife Dianne, and their children in Cessnock NSW.