James John Arundel Wallace, AM is a retired

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

officer and a current lobbyist on social issues. Wallace was the managing director of the

Australian Christian Lobby The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is a conservative right-wing Christian advocacy organisation based in Canberra. It is similar to the other international Christian lobby groups, and seeks to represent Christian citizens and voters of Judeo-C ...

from 2000 to 2013. He is now the Chairman of that organisation.

Early life and military career

Wallace studied at the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

and the

British Army Staff College Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

. He served in the

for 32 years, reaching the rank of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

. His service included command of the

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The reg ...

(1988–1990). He was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1984.

Activism and criticism

Wallace has publicly expressed opposition to

women in combat Women in combat refers to female military personnel assigned to combat positions. The role of women in the military has varied across the world’s major countries throughout history with several views for and against women in combat. History ...

and changing the Marriage Act of Australia. Several of his public comments, particularly those about

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

, have attracted criticism. Wallace has raised concerns about violent video games. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' reported that Wallace "suggested a homosexual lifestyle was more hazardous to health than smoking." In response Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

called Wallace's comments "heartless", "wrong" and "totally unacceptable", and cancelled a speech she had planned to give to the ACL's national conference. On 4 May 2012, Wallace appeared before the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee during their consideration of the ''Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010'' where he presented to the Committee his arguments, "in support of the definition of marriage". Following a return visit to Syria in 2013 to assess the situation for the minorities in the Syrian conflict, Wallace claimed the vulnerable Christians there will face even worse persecution than that experienced by Egypt's Coptic Christians. Saying that the West's policy for the Middle East "courts a disaster", he urged the West to take decisive action to protect Syria's Christians. Wallace also commentates on defence and security issues, having lived in the Middle East where he served with the United Nations in Lebanon and Syria. In 2003 he was appointed the Council of the

Australian Strategic Policy Institute The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, founded by the Australian government and funded by the Australian and overseas governments, industry ...

by the Minister for Defence. As of 2017 he was no longer on ASPI's Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Jim Australian brigadiers Australian anti-abortion activists Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Living people Members of the Order of Australia Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Year of birth missing (living people)