Former Labor MP’s soldier son dies after parachuting accident

The son of former Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon has died following a parachuting accident during a military drill in Sydney's north-west.

Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon from the 2nd Commando Regiment, suffered critical injuries at a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base in Richmond about 6.30pm yesterday.

A Careflight helicopter was deployed to the scene before he was transported to Westmead Hospital by road ambulance.

At a press conference today, Acting Special Operations Commander Australia, Brigadier James Kidd, confirmed the 33-year-old died in hospital.

"Jack had served his country on operations abroad and also closer to home, serving his country and local communities as part of natural disaster responses," he said.

"Defence has initiated a formal investigation into this incident as we seek to learn how we can strengthen our processes.

"But we acknowledge military training is inherently risky and we remain committed to constantly training at the highest standards to achieve the level of excellence we know our nation demands of us."

Fitzgibbon is the son of Joel, who served as the former member for Hunter between 1996 and 2022, and minister for defence in the Rudd government.

Kidd issued a statement on behalf of the Fitzgibbon family today in which they expressed they were "devastated and heartbroken by the loss of our wonderful Jack".

"Serving in the special forces was Jack's dream job and we take some comfort from the fact that he died serving his nation in a uniform of the ADF," Joel Fitzgibbon said in the statement.

"Jack was a dedicated, highly skilled, and courageous soldier. He was an experienced parachutist.

"Our lives will never be the same without Jack, but we will always remain proud of him and his many achievements."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has extended his condolences in a statement.

"Our thoughts are with our friend Joel Fitzgibbon and his family," the statement reads.

"Today the burden of grief falls on a dear friend to so many in the Labor family.

"Our hearts are filled with sorrow for Jack, and his loving family – Joel, Dianne and his sisters – who are now holding on to his precious memory.

"We think also of all who served with Jack and are now coming to terms with the loss of their friend and mate."

Defence Minister Richard Marles said friends and colleagues in the ADF "will be feeling the heaviness of this news today".

"His death is a tragedy. His life has been taken too early," he said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.

"Jack loved serving in the Special Forces and he did so with honour and great ability.

"Whenever a serving member of the Defence Force loses their life they have loved ones who are impacted. In this instance, Jack's father, Joel Fitzgibbon, who is a close friend of mine. All of Joel's friends are feeling this tragedy particularly."

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie and shadow assistant defence minister Phillip Thompson paid tribute in a joint statement.

"On behalf of the Coalition, we express our heartfelt condolences to the entire Fitzgibbon family on the tragic passing of their beloved son," they said.

"The Opposition pays its respects to Jack as we offer our deep gratitude for his military service.

"In this moment of devastation and heartbreak for the Fitzgibbon family and Jack's fellow soldiers and friends, we acknowledge a young man of commendable character who epitomised the very best of our country."

Kidd said an investigation is under way and that it was "too early to speculate on what may have occurred in detail".

The ADF has paused all parachuting training activities until further notice.