Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise today to offer my condolences to the family and friends of the Hon. Simon Crean on his passing. Simon was a true hero of the Labor Party and the wider labour movement. He was a great champion of Australian workers and those who needed a helping hand in life. Simon Crean spent his entire career working to ensure all Australians could share the benefits of our international trade and economic development. He followed his father into parliament, with Frank Crean having served as the member for Melbourne Ports for 26 years and also having served as Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer in the Whitlam government. So it's no surprise that Simon grew up with strong Labor values and a love for the labour movement, with Labor greats such as Gough Whitlam and Doc Evatt visiting his family home when Simon was a child.

While studying law and economics, he started his career with the union movement, working as a part-time researcher with the former Federated Storemen and Packers Union, now known as the National Union of Workers. By 1979, he had become general secretary of the union. Simon achieved extraordinary things during his life in the union, most notably leading a successful campaign for better working conditions for workers who performed heavy manual labour. As Vice-President of the ACTU, Simon played a crucial role in bringing about the Hawke government's accord between unions and employers in 1983. The accord, as we all know, was an extraordinary success, leading to industrial disputes dropping dramatically and employment growing strongly. Simon Crean would go on to become President of the ACTU from 1985 to 1990, and in 1990 he was elected as the Labor MP for the seat of Hotham, which started an extraordinary 23-year career in federal politics.

His time in parliament saw him rise to become the leader of the federal Labor Party, and he served as a cabinet minister in the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments. When he first came to parliament, Simon immediately entered the Hawke ministry as Minister for Science and Technology and Minister Assisting the Treasurer. He would hold the portfolios of primary industries and energy and employment, education and training under the Hawke and Keating governments before leading the federal Labor Party from 2001 to 2003.

As leader of the Labor Party, Simon showed incredible courage in opposing the deployment of Australian soldiers to Iraq. Though he opposed the deployment, he made very clear at the time that he had the deepest respect for Australia's military and would take every opportunity to address ADF personnel when they were deployed. In farewelling the service women and men from the HMAS Kanimbla, which was deploying to the Persian Gulf from HMAS Stirling in my electorate of Brand, Simon said:

My argument is not with you but with the Government.

Following the 2007 election, Simon returned to cabinet as Minister for Trade, where he played a key role in negotiating several international trade agreements, including the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand free trade agreement and Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement. He also commenced the free trade negotiations with China, Korea, Japan and our near neighbour Indonesia. He would go on to become minister for employment, workplace relations, social inclusion, regional Australia, regional development and local government before his retirement from parliament in 2013.

Even after his political career, Mr Crean continued to promote free trade as a pathway to economic prosperity as chair of the European Australian Business Council and chair of the Australia-Korea Business Council. I entered parliament after Simon retired, but I had the pleasure of engaging with him extensively in my role as shadow minister for trade. I was struck by his warmth, intelligence and generosity and saw firsthand his dedication to our country and his deep understanding of the importance and benefits of international trade and, critically, how the benefits from that trade must flow to the wider community. He will be missed by the European Australian Business Council; the advocacy he did for the Australian-European Union Free Trade Agreement is the stuff of legends.

Simon left a remarkable legacy. His entire adult life was committed to helping improve the lives of Australia's workers and for the benefit of the nation. He was a lion of the labour movement and he will be sorely missed. Many MPs here in this place knew him much better than I did, and I extend my condolences to them and, of course, his many friends. I also want to extend my most sincere condolences to his wife, Carole, and to his whole family. The loss of a loved one so suddenly is heartbreaking. Nothing can take that heartbreak away. Only happy memories make the pain bearable, and I trust his family and friends will continue to think of those happy memories and remarkable legacy for a long time to come.

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