Mr MARLES (Corio—Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence) (14:11): On Monday, in Cessnock, the funeral of Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon was an extraordinarily poignant event. It was a packed, overflowing church. There was a procession in the street led by a lone piper, a gun carriage pulling the coffin and a gun salute. Passers-by stopped, watched and paid their respects. It was as if the whole of Cessnock stood still. Inside the church there were beautiful speeches from Jack's family and from his comrades which described a life that was short but which had a huge impact. Jack Fitzgibbon served in the Australian Defence Force for over 10 years, with six years in the special forces. He deployed to assist in the floods in 2022, and prior to that he was deployed in Papua New Guinea. Amongst his many skills he was an experienced parachutist, having done 106 jumps, with 95 of them as military freefall. Think about that. Yet, as important as the facts and figures of Jack's career are, they only tell part of the story. We also heard him described as a fun-loving larrikin who was full of life. He was a young man with a captivating, cheeky smile who, at the same time, was completely committed to his family and friends, to his job and to his nation. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Jack did not put himself forward to lead, but, almost despite himself, he was a person who others instinctively followed. He was the personification of the Australian character. He was the personification of the very person we need to wear our nation's uniform. In the church, there was also an immense, excruciating pain. Here, this becomes personal. Jack's grandfather served in this place, as did his father, Joel Fitzgibbon, a person who is a close and dear friend to so many of us, who served here for more than 26 years. I'd not met Jack, but I'd heard all about Jack well before he joined the Australian Army from a father who loved him very much. Because we are human, it means that the character of the pain which is being expressed here today is different to those of other occasions where we acknowledge those who have fallen in our nation's service, yet, in another sense, it's the same. For everyone who has died wearing our nation's uniform, there is a grieving family, there are grieving friends and there is a grieving community. So, as we feel our pain today for Jack, Joel, Dianne, Caitlin, Grace, Maxine and Kass, we do so as well on behalf of all of those who have grieved for loved ones who have died in our nation's service. I know that Joel would want us to see it that way, because Joel has stood precisely in my shoes. When he and I spoke on that terrible day—as friends, really—Joel said to me that he'd made a number of these calls as the defence minister. He just never expected to receive one himself. I want to say to you, Joel, that the pain which is being felt here today is also a reflection of the deep warmth and affection which is felt for you on both sides of this chamber. And, after a career of such service and such length here, that is unique and rare. I say to you, Joel, and to Dianne, to Caitlin, to Grace, to Maxine and to Kass, in the knowledge of the deepest sympathies which are extended to you on behalf of us all, I hope that you take solace in the pride that will always be yours that Jack's sacrifice was made doing what he loved—making a difference in the service of our nation. Jack Fitzgibbon, lest we forget.