Major-general, senator, pilot: Senator Jim Molan’s vast legacy

JIM MOLAN: 1950-2023

Jim Molan almost got to Vietnam. He graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in December 1971 and, after training with his infantry battalion, was due to go. But Australia’s commitment was coming to an end, following the Gorton government’s decision to scale down from late 1970. The end of that commitment ushered in what some servicemen termed “The Great Peace”.

But in the ensuing four decades, Molan, reaching the rank of major-general, carved a most distinguished career, at one stage commanding more troops than any Australian since World War II. He fought some brutal battles, put his life on the line and helped Iraq onto the road to democracy. There were no massed armies, aerial combat and sea battles. The wars he fought were more like most military campaigns of the old Roman Empire, skirmishes in a protracted campaign to maintain global stability. As chief of staff for the coalition forces in Iraq in 2004-05, Molan was in the hot seat in a period of world history marked by terrorism, mass dislocation and chronic instability.

Senator Jim Molan reacts prior to delivering his first speech in the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Andrew James Molan was born in Melbourne on April 11, 1950, son of a World War II veteran, Andrew Molan and Noni (nee Harnetty). He dreamt of being a soldier from his early days and in July, 1968, was admitted into the Royal Military Academy, Duntroon. He completed university degrees in arts and economics and learnt Indonesian. In 1972, he was posted to the 1st Battalion, Pacific Islands Regiment (Papua New Guinea), returning a few months later to marry Anne Williams, whom he had met as an officer cadet. Both of them returned to Papua New Guinea where Molan completed what was to be a three-year stint, in which he helped the country move towards the democratic system that was instituted in 1975.

Molan then served in the 9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment, and in the 3rd and 6th Battalions Royal Australian Regiment. He was at one point dispatched to the then Trade Union Training Authority College to learn how to become an industry advocate, which he found to be “an extraordinary experience”. His first child, Sarah, was born in 1981, followed by Erin in 1983, Felicity in 1984 and Michael in 1989. In 1992, as a colonel, Molan was posted to Jakarta as the Australian Defence Force attache, where he served until 1994. In 1998, as a brigadier, he returned as defence attache for another two years, where he saw first-hand Indonesia’s chaos following the fall of president Suharto, the Asian financial crisis and East Timor’s vote for independence. In 1999, when the Australian Army was deployed to East Timor, he was sent there.

Major General Andrew James “Jim” Molan, AO, 2007.

Made an Officer of the Order of Australia, Molan became commander of the Australian Defence College. The United States was keen to bring commanders of allied nations into the command structure and Molan was offered a job, which the then Chief of the Defence Force, General Peter Cosgrove, urged him to take. In April 2004, Molan was posted to Baghdad as deputy chief of staff for operations for the new Multinational Force. Then he became chief of staff, effectively putting him in command of a force of 270,000, including more than 130,000 Americans, the rest drawn from dozens of coalition nations, plus Iraq itself.

Molan set out to create new mechanisms to co-ordinate and improve the security of vital infrastructure, monitoring, security, repair, ministerial liaison, contracting and command. He was in command during the brutal battles for Fallujah, Najar, Talafar, Samarra and Mosul. Molan survived a 23 mm anti-aircraft gun attack on a Blackhawk helicopter. On his count, he was involved in 15 attacks, including rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. The Iraqi elections scheduled for January 2005 represented a huge challenge. In the seven days before election day, coalition and Iraqi security forces were attacked about 800 times and on election day 260 times. On the night before the election, a rocket hit a room next to where Molan was, killing two Americans. It failed to detonate, which probably saved Molan’s life.

Molan, awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the US Legion of Merit, retired from the Army in 2008 and published a book, Baghdad, Running the War in Iraq. He settled on a property near Queanbeyan and became busy as a member of the local bush fire brigade. Owner of a light plane, he flew a civilian helicopter in rescue operations as well as police and firefighting operations and became director of the National Aerial Firefighting Centre. He gave evidence on crisis management to the 2009 Victorian royal commission on bushfires.

In 2012, the Abbot government appointed Molan as a special envoy for Operation Sovereign Borders, to work out a way of stemming the flow of illegal immigrants. He was credited with being an architect of the Coalition’s “Stop the Boats” border policy and in 2013, co-authored a book, Operation Sovereign Borders.

In 2014, Molan became a special adviser to the minister for defence. He became active in the Liberal Party and, with Tony Abbott, championed the cause of democratising the party by giving rank-and-file members a direct say in party pre-selections. In 2016, Molan stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal Senator for NSW. But when Fiona Nash was ousted from parliament on the dual citizenship issue, Molan was appointed to fill the Senate vacancy and was declared elected in December 2017. He was defeated in the June, 2019, election but in November that year, following the resignation of senator Arthur Sinodinos, he was again appointed to a Senate vacancy.

Jim Molan, retired major-general during his posting in Iraq.

As a senator, Molan spoke out strongly on issues of immigration, defence and national security. He believed that following the Vietnam war, the Australian Defence Force had become atrophied, afflicted with cuts to its budget. “Governments have got to take responsibility for capability in the military.” For 75 years, Australia had relied on “our great and powerful friend”, the United States.

“Not any more!” he said.

Molan joined debates on issues such as nuclear energy, people smuggling, foreign investment, stillbirth, fuel security and veteran support. He served on a number of senate standing and select committees.

“I don’t hold the kind of ideology that fits the stereotype of a right-winger in the Liberal Party,” he said. “On social issues I’ll take them one by one and make up my mind.”

Jim Molan during a “lunch with...” interview in Queanbeyan in 2018.Credit: Sean Davey

Molan voted “yes” on the same-sex marriage vote and supported an Australian Republic.

In March 2021, Jim Molan was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and, true to form, set about beating it. But sometimes that is not enough. His family confirmed the 72-year-old’s death in a statement on Tuesday morning, stating he died peacefully with his family surrounding him.

His passing was well recognised by the military. Major Jason Li, lawyer and graduate of the Australian Command and Staff College (Reserve) said: “He was a giant of our era both militarily and beyond … [we] remained blessed with his significant legacy of professionalism, dedication and service to Australia”.

Jim Molan is survived by his wife, his four children and five grandchildren.

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