Mike Kelly | |
|---|---|
 Kelly at theWagga RAAF Museum in 2008 | |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forEden-Monaro | |
| In office 2 July 2016 – 30 April 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Hendy |
| Succeeded by | Kristy McBain |
| In office 24 November 2007 – 7 September 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Gary Nairn |
| Succeeded by | Peter Hendy |
| Minister for Defence Materiel | |
| In office 4 February 2013 – 7 September 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Julia Gillard Kevin Rudd |
| Preceded by | Jason Clare |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1960-02-23)23 February 1960 (age 65) Adelaide,South Australia, Australia |
| Political party | Labor Party |
| Spouse | Rachelle Sakker-Kelly |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Macquarie University University of New South Wales |
| Occupation | Lawyer Soldier Politician |
| Website | https://mikekelly.org.au/ |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Branch/service | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1987–2007 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | Bosnian War Operation Restore Hope International Force for East Timor Iraq War |
| Awards | Member of the Order of Australia |
ColonelMichael Joseph Kelly,AM (born 23 February 1960) is an Australian former politician who twice represented theDivision of Eden-Monaro in theParliament of Australia, from 2007 to 2013 and again from 2016 to 2020. He is a member of theAustralian Labor Party (ALP).
Kelly was born inAdelaide and studied law atMacquarie University before joining theAustralian Army in 1987. He went on to serve inSomalia,East Timor,Bosnia andIraq.[1] He was among senior Australian military personnel in theIraq War. Kelly finished his military career in 2007 with the rank ofcolonel as Director of Army Legal Services.
Kelly was first elected to theHouse of Representatives for theDivision of Eden-Monaro at the2007 federal election and was immediately appointed asParliamentary Secretary for Defence Support. In 2009, he was also appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Water. Following the2010 federal election, Kelly was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. In December 2011, he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Defence in a reshuffle of the Government. In a third reshuffle in early 2013, Kelly was promoted to the outer ministry asMinister for Defence Materiel, a position he held from March to September that year.
Following the2013 federal election, Kelly lost his seat to Liberal candidatePeter Hendy but regained the seat in the2016 federal election. He is the first person to serve in opposition as the member for theDivision of Eden-Monaro since 1972.[2] He was the shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Industry and Support.[1]
On 30 April 2020, Kelly announced his resignation from Parliament due to personal and family health issues.[3] Ten days later, he confirmed he had taken up a job offer withPalantir Technologies.[4]
Kelly was born in Adelaide on 23 February 1960. He attendedAsquith Boys High School inSydney.[5] He then studied atMacquarie University and graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts andBachelor of Laws.
Kelly joined theAustralian Army, specifically theAustralian Army Legal Corps, in 1987.[6]
Kelly was deployed and served inOperation Restore Hope in Somalia from 1992 to 1993. He was awarded the Chief of the General Staff Commendation for his service and, in 1994, was made aMember of the Order of Australia in recognition of his work in Somalia.[7]
In Somalia, Kelly was actively involved in the prosecution of the warlord Hussan Gutaale Abdul.[8] Gutaale, who among many other things had attacked and killed 16 aid workers and repeatedly driven an armoured car into emaciated refugees awaiting food distribution,[8] was arrested by an Australian patrol, held in a cage at Baidoa airport and later flown to Mogadishu to be held by US forces. He was found guilty of 31 counts of murder by a panel of three judges and sentenced to 20 years' hard labour.[8]
Appeals were immediately made, with the prosecution demanding the death penalty mandatory for murder under the Somali Penal Code.[8] A panel of six judges heard the appeal, upheld the previous verdicts and imposed the sentence of death to be carried out forthwith. "The court erupted in mayhem" and Gutaale physically attacked Kelly.[8] Eventually a group of engineers arrived, Gutaale was handcuffed and Kelly wrestled him along the roadway to his place of execution. Gutaale was handed over to the Somali police and executed on the spot. Kelly later recalled:
Before I left Australia I had my own views on capital punishment. I was leaning fairly heavily towards the negative side. But the death of Gutaale was far more than an execution following a criminal conviction, it was more an act of communal self defence. If I was moved in any way, it was seeing Gutaale's mother in the court. She was concerned and upset, but having sat through countless statements from people who had suffered from what he had done and not just killings, but cruel killings and senseless brutality I knew too much of what he had done, and what he was capable of. I couldn't, have any sympathy for him ... I have absolutely no personal regrets about Gutaale's execution ... I'll have to admit that even when I saw him wallowing in his own blood and excrement I felt no remorse or pity, only relief. There was no other way of stopping him.
— Colonel Mike Kelly,The Canberra Times, 10 October 2007.
Kelly was also deployed during theBosnian War, which occurred from 1992 to 1995.[9] In 1996, Kelly was part of a successful hostage recovery mission in Kenya.[1]
Following the Bosnian War, Kelly obtained a Doctorate of Philosophy from theUniversity of New South Wales in 1997. The research work undertaken for his doctoral dissertation has subsequently formed the basis for two books:Peace Operations: Tackling the Military, Legal and Policy Challenges (1997) andRestoring and Maintaining Order in Complex Peace Operations: The Search for a Legal Framework (1999).[10]
Kelly then served in thepeacekeeping mission in East Timor from 1999 to 2000. He received the United Nations Force Commander's commendation in 2002 for his service there.[1]
Kelly was among senior Australian personnel deployed in Iraq during the Iraq War. In June 2003, he inspected detention facilities in Iraq, including those atAbu Ghraib, and reported to the Australian Government on the treatment of detainees.[6] He was actively involved in the prosecution of Saddam Hussein.
He finished his military career in 2007 with the rank ofcolonel as Director of Army Legal Services.[10]
In the 2007 federal election, Kelly stood as the Labor candidate for the marginal New South Wales country electorate of Eden-Monaro, regarded as a "Bellwether seat".
He was criticised by his opponent, long-standingLiberal memberGary Nairn for not residing in the electorate before his nomination and for not facing a localpreselection.[11] Nairn's chief of staff also publicly likened Kelly to aBelsenNaziconcentration camp guard for serving in the military in Iraq despite opposing the war itself.[12] The reference became a high-profile campaign issue, with claims that Nairn's office had subsequently promoted the claim using public rather than party funds.[13] The comment was subsequently withdrawn and an apology forwarded to media outlets and to Kelly.[14]
At the2007 federal election on 24 November, Kelly won the seat with a 6.67%two-party-preferred swing,[15] and was appointedParliamentary Secretary for Defence Support in the incomingRudd Government.
In 2008, after a prolonged and acrimonious debate within Australian veteran and political circles, Kelly formally acknowledged the existence of the 2nd D&E Platoon, a platoon of infantrymen that had been involved in a most successful ambush at Thua Tich on 29 May 1969 under the leadership of Corporal James Riddle. All trace of the platoon had disappeared from the records of the Vietnam War and had compromised the service histories of the 39 men who had served in it.[16] In 2009, he was also appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Water.
After a redistribution changed the boundaries of Eden-Monaro, Kelly defeated Liberal candidate David Gazard in the2010 federal election with a swing of 2%. As a result of the re-elected Labor Government's regional focus, Kelly was appointed asParliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in September 2010. In December 2011, he was appointed asParliamentary Secretary for Defence in a reshuffle of the Government.[17]
In a third reshuffle in early 2013, Kelly was promoted to the outer ministry and replacedJason Clare asMinister for Defence Materiel.[18]
In November 2012, Kelly was sued byLynton Crosby for alleging on Twitter that Crosby had usedpush polling.[19] The case was eventually discontinued in 2015 byCrosby Textor after Kelly issued an apology which explained that his tweet had concerned a poll from 1995 in which Textor was involved before Crosby Textor's business had commenced.[20]
At the2013 federal election, Kelly lost his seat to the Liberal Party candidatePeter Hendy.
Preselected as the Labor candidate for Eden-Monaro in May 2015, Kelly defeated Hendy and regained the seat at the2016 federal election becoming the seat's first opposition member since 1972. Moreover, it was the first time since 1969 that the non-Labor side had been in government without holding Eden-Monaro.
Kelly supportssame-sex marriage.[21][22]
In September 2018, Kelly was the target of twoanti-Semitic attacks. The first attack was when aneo-Nazi sticker with the words "Antipodean Resistance" was placed on his Bega electorate office window. The second incident was when pig's blood and pork was thrown at his Queanbeyan electorate office. Kelly is a supporter of Israel and his wife and son are Jewish.[23]
On 30 April 2020, Kelly announced his resignation from Parliament and retirement from politics due to personal health issues. He also said he wanted to support his wife as she went through her own health issues. Ten days later, he announced he had taken a position atPalantir Technologies. He said that his role would allow him to "work within [his] physical limitations but still be in a position to make a difference in relation to the issues that matter to [him]".[4]
Kelly is married to Rachelle and has one son.[10]In October 2019 Kelly collapsed and was taken to hospital for emergency surgery. He hadrenal failure which he attributes to severe dehydration during his overseas military service.[24] Kelly underwent 10 medical procedures in 6 months. His health issues, and also his wife having health problems, led to him announcing his retirement from politics.[3]
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| Clasp | Award | Clasp/Notes | Date awarded | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member of the Order of Australia (AM) | 13 June 1994 | [7] | |
| Australian Active Service Medal | with 3 Clasps,Somalia,Timor Leste andIraq | [25] | |
| Iraq Medal | [25] | ||
| Australian Service Medal | with 1 Clasp,Balkans | [25] | |
| Defence Long Service Medal | with one Rosette for 20–24 years service | [25] | |
| Australian Defence Medal | [25] | ||
| United Nations Medal | forUnited Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor (UNMIT) | [25] |
Media related toMike Kelly (politician) at Wikimedia Commons| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member forEden-Monaro 2007–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member forEden-Monaro 2016–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Defence Materiel 2013 | Succeeded by None |