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

and the Member for Melbourne Ports, as I've been reminded. Of course Frank was a remarkable politician and a very successful minister and a critical one, who endured the 23 years in opposition and managed to return to become a cabinet minister.Growing up in a household like that with a father who was remarkably successful would have been informative and added some pressure about realising one's own ambitions, which is what happens if one of your parents or both of your parents are that successful.

Simon really did see his role as being a contributor to public life. Yes, he was a Labor person through and through, but he always thought beyond his own constituency. When he was an official of the storemen and packers he understood that, if workers are going to be better off, businesses have to thrive. He brought that understanding to the ACTU and brought that understanding to his contribution to establish an accord with the government that brought about economic growth and improvement in opportunities for many people in this country. And that was before he entered this place. He was already a very significant contributor to the national policy of this country.

The esteem in which he was held was so clearly obvious that on his first day in parliament in 1990 he was sworn in as a cabinet minister. I don't know of any other member of parliament who was a cabinet minister on their first day of parliament. In fact, so unusual was that that his first contribution to the parliament wasn't his first speech but was a second reading speech on a piece of legislation that he as the minister was responsible for. That's how early he elevated to the most senior roles in parliament and government in his time in this place.

Hawke had so much confidence in him that he was the minister for employment immediately upon arriving in this place. In his role as employment minister he brought about some very significant reforms in that portfolio. Who could be better placed to understand the needs of the economy, business, working people and unions than Simon Crean in a reformist government? Frankly, because of his experience, his ability, his diligence and his untiring efforts he managed to bring about some very significant reforms.

You might recall that for a part of that term we were going through a very significant recession with very high unemployment. Indeed, he worked on policies to make sure we reattached unemployed people to the labour market. Working Nation was a policy that was successfully capable of providing support to unemployed people so that they acquired the skills they needed to find ongoing, enduring work. The policies that he developed at that time when there was significantly high unemployment have been successively replicated and when they have been replicated they have led to very good outcomes.

I understand Simon's ability to stress test policy and to understand that ultimately we are in this place to make things happen and to make things work. Whatever other theatrics might go on in this place—and politics is full of those things, and that's okay too—he was very much someone who wanted to get things done. He showed that in his first term in parliament as a cabinet minister and he went on to take on other portfolios, including regional affairs. He was well regarded. I know that the member who is going to speak after me, Michael McCormack—and I apologise for not recalling your seat—

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