James John Arundel Wallace, AM is a retired

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal 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 (CA), wh ...

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 group, advocacy organisation based in Canberra. It is similar to the other international Christian lobby groups, and seeks to represent Christian citizens and v ...

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. 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. I ...

. 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 re ...

(1988–1990). He was made a

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

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 pe ...

, 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 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, 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 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)