Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Hansard source

My apologies. I know he will attest to the fact that, even in a constituency that wasn't naturally Labor, people held Simon in very high regard because of his sincerity, because he listened to their concerns and because he responded. He did that in any portfolio that he inhabited, including the arts portfolio, which is something that people didn't appreciate at the time to the extent that perhaps they should have appreciated it. His policy, Creative Australia, was reinvigorating the arts and cultural sectors of our society. He understood how critical it was that we told our own stories—that we supported those artists that do just that—and that if we made sure that we had a thriving arts community it's not only in our interests culturally and socially but economically too.

He very much understood the fact that to support the arts was to support Australia. I'll quote him, when he said:

Creative Australia is about creating excellence, creating jobs, creating prosperity, creating opportunity and creating unique Australian stories—

And he went on to say:

all vital to an outward looking, competitive and confident nation.

He understood that not only was it important for us culturally but he even understood the economic benefits that would flow if we supported the arts community. I'm very happy to say that the current government is following in his footsteps, as Tony Burke, the Minister for the Arts, has so clearly outlined recently in his tribute to Simon.

Whichever portfolio he held in whichever government—and he was a very unusual MP in that he happened to find himself a cabinet minister in four governments—he always dedicated himself to ensuring that there would be an enduring reform. Wherever you look in Simon's long, distinguished parliamentary career, you will see enduring policies that outlived his time in those portfolios. That was a testament to his dedication, diligence and unwavering passion about serving the public good. We can say that of Simon because that was in his DNA; he just felt that that was his role.

Can I say further to that, that beyond his time in parliament he also continued to contribute. As the Prime Minister said, he would seek Simon's counsel in a number of areas since he became Prime Minister. And Simon was always available to provide advice to each and every one of us in this place. Indeed, I had the good fortune of having access to his insight, his experience and his capacity to understand how to develop policies so that they led to good outcomes.

I also had the good fortune of sharing a residence with Simon Crean for many years, along with my good friend Warren Snowdon. In fact, I was getting sick of the furnished apartments I had to keep leaving at the end of the parliamentary week. I wanted to ensure that I found some permanent residence—to the extent that we have that here—while I was here. I found out when Senator Nick Bolkus was finishing up that he had a bedroom in a house, and that there were two other tenants: Simon Crean and Warren Snowdon. I applied for the tenancy and got the chance of living there. This was a good thing, because I could leave some of my belongings rather than taking them home at the end of each week. So in 2005 I moved into that place in Narrabundah, and for eight years I shared this residence with Simon Crean and Warren Snowdon. That was a very good decision of mine to be amongst such good company. At night we would make cups of tea, have a few biscuits, watch the news and sometimes have a conversation about the day's events. It was just the sort of company you like to have in this place—quite often it can be a lonely place for people. I found that moving there was a good thing but, really, having the chance to be with Simon and talking to him about public policy, talking to him about all sorts of matters politically, was great for me and also a friendship did form. It went from me being someone who was really listening to Simon and learning from him to finding ourselves in a very strong friendship. He was a great trekker and walker. I did go on a great walk with him and Carole and others—the Bay of Fires walk in Tasmania. We had dinners on New Year's Eve. Together, we would gather socially, and he was great, great company.

The last time I spent time with Simon was only in May this year. I'll finish on this story, but the story started in 2002, when I was about to deliver my first speech as a parliamentarian. My aunty flew over from Ireland to be here for that speech, and with her she had a book entitled Unsung Hero, about the Antarctic explorer Tom Crean. It was given to her by a woman called Mary Crean O'Brien, who was the 90-year-old daughter of this Antarctic explorer who'd explored with Captain Scott, Shackleton and others. She wanted me to deliver the book to Simon because she was absolutely assured that Simon was a relative of this Antarctic explorer, Tom Crean.

Simon had just taken on the role of opposition leader, one of the hardest roles, as we know, in politics, and after giving the speech I did provide Simon with this book and said Tom Crean's 90-year-old surviving daughter was convinced that Simon was a relative of this remarkable Antarctic explorer. He put the book down and said, 'I'll have a look at that,' but, of course, as he was always attentive to his work and given the workload that he had, he probably left it in abeyance for some time. He did come back to it and he did tell me later that his father did say that the Creans were from Kerry, in Ireland, and that's where Tom Crean was from.

The last time I met him was at Florentino, the oldest restaurant in Melbourne. He was sitting in his usual spot. He'd been going there for more than 60 years. His parents used to bring him there when it was perhaps a more modest restaurant. There he was, sitting there. This was on 2 May this year, only five or six weeks before his passing, and we discussed his trip to Ireland—that he was going to Ireland, to Annascaul in Kerry, to meet with the descendants of Tom Crean to establish the lineage, with his brother, David Crean. So David and Simon went to Ireland. We were going to catch up when he got back. He went to Ireland and then Scotland. He told me he and Carole were going to Germany after that. We never got to catch up or speak about his trip to Ireland, but I understand from David and others that they did establish links with that family.

And it's not surprising to me that Simon Crean would be related to a person who had the courage and endurance and tenacity and strength to be an Antarctic explorer. It makes perfect sense to me because, whatever Simon did in public life, whether it was as union leader or Labor leader, whether it was as cabinet minister or Labor elder, Simon was dedicated, he was diligent, he was sincere, he was courageous and he always put in a hundred per cent.

He is sorely missed by his family, of course, most of all. I was in India for the G20 and missed his funeral, which was a great disappointment to me. I did see Carole Crean in the chamber yesterday and I extended my deepest condolences to her, and I hope to catch up with her and David and others soon and I conveyed that to them.

Simon was a Labor giant. He was a magnificent contributor. And he reached beyond the Labor movement and the Labor Party and he would always look through the prism of what was good for this country. You could not choose a better role model in terms of conducting yourself in public life than one on the path of Simon Findlay Crean.

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