Simon Crean

The Honourable

Simon Crean
The Honourable; Simon Crean
Leader of the Opposition
	In office; 22 November 2001 – 2 December 2003
Prime Minister	John Howard
Deputy	Jenny Macklin
Preceded by	Kim Beazley
Succeeded by	Mark Latham
Leader of the Labor Party
	In office; 22 November 2001 – 2 December 2003
Deputy	Jenny Macklin
Preceded by	Kim Beazley
Succeeded by	Mark Latham
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
	In office; 19 October 1998 – 22 November 2001
Leader	Kim Beazley
Preceded by	Gareth Evans
Succeeded by	Jenny Macklin
Minister for Regional Development and Local Government
	In office; 14 September 2010 – 21 March 2013
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Anthony Albanese
Succeeded by	Anthony Albanese
Minister for the Arts
	In office; 14 September 2010 – 21 March 2013
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Peter Garrett
Succeeded by	Tony Burke
Minister for Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations
	In office; 28 June 2010 – 14 September 2010
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Julia Gillard
Succeeded by	Peter Garrett
Minister for Social Inclusion
	In office; 28 June 2010 – 14 September 2010
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Julia Gillard
Succeeded by	Tanya Plibersek
Minister for Trade
	In office; 3 December 2007 – 28 June 2010
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd; Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Warren Truss
Succeeded by	Stephen Smith
Minister for Employment, Education, and Training
	In office; 23 December 1993 – 11 March 1996
Prime Minister	Paul Keating
Preceded by	Kim Beazley
Succeeded by	Amanda Vanstone
Minister for Primary Industries and Energy
	In office; 4 June 1991 – 23 December 1993
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke; Paul Keating
Preceded by	John Kerin
Succeeded by	Bob Collins
Minister for Science and Technology
	In office; 4 April 1990 – 4 June 1991
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke
Preceded by	Barry Jones
Succeeded by	Ross Free
Manager of Opposition Business
	In office; 20 March 1996 – 20 October 1998
Leader	Kim Beazley
Preceded by	Peter Reith
Succeeded by	Bob McMullan
Member of the Australian Parliament; for Hotham
	In office; 24 March 1990 – 5 August 2013
Preceded by	Lewis Kent
Succeeded by	Clare O'Neil
President of the Australian Council of ; Trade Unions
	In office; 1 March 1985 – 25 March 1990
Preceded by	Cliff Dolan
Succeeded by	Martin Ferguson
Personal details
Born	Simon Findlay Crean; 26 February 1949 (age 72); Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Political party	Labor
Spouse(s)	Carole Crean (m. 1973)
Relations	Stephen Crean (brother); David Crean (brother);
Children	2
Parents	Frank Crean; Mary Findlay;
Education	Melbourne High School
Alma mater	Monash University

Simon Findlay Crean (born 26 February 1949) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the Member of Parliament for Hotham from 1990 to 2013, representing the Labor Party, and served as a Cabinet Minister in the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard Governments. He was the Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2001 to December 2003.

Crean was born in Melbourne, Victoria. His father, Frank Crean, was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia under Gough Whitlam. After studying law and economics at Monash University, Crean joined the trade union movement, becoming General Secretary of the Storemen and Packers' Union in 1979. He became Vice President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in 1981, and in 1985 was elected as ACTU President, succeeding Cliff Dolan. Crean stood down from this role upon his election to the Australian Parliament at the 1990 election, and immediately entered the Government as Minister for Science and Technology. He served in various roles until Labor was defeated at the 1996 election.

Following Labor's 1998 election defeat, Crean was elected Deputy Leader of the Labor Party, replacing Gareth Evans. He was later elected unopposed to succeed Kim Beazley as Leader of the Labor Party following further defeat at the 2001 election, becoming Leader of the Opposition. Despite initial enthusiasm for his leadership, Crean quickly struggled in opinion polling, and in June 2003, Beazley challenged him for the leadership. Although Crean won comfortably, speculation about his leadership only intensified, and in November 2003 he announced that he would resign, making Crean the first Leader of the Labor Party never to face a federal election; he was replaced by his Shadow Treasurer, Mark Latham.

Despite losing the leadership, Crean remained a senior figure within the Labor Party, and returned to the Cabinet as Minister for Trade when the Labor won the 2007 election. Crean supported Julia Gillard in her leadership challenge to Kevin Rudd in June 2010, and remained in the Cabinet after she was successful. Although he continued to support Gillard through the leadership spill in February 2012, in March 2013 he announced that he was switching support to Rudd, sparking another leadership spill; Gillard sacked him from the Cabinet in response. When Rudd eventually did return as Prime Minister at the leadership spill in June 2013, Crean ran unsuccessful to return to the role of Deputy Leader; he subsequently announced his decision to retire from politics at the 2013 election.^[1]

Early life and education[]

Crean was born in Melbourne, the son of Frank Crean, a federal Labor MP from 1951 to 1977, who was both Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam Government from 1972 to 1975.^[2] One of his two brothers, David Crean, was formerly a Member of the Tasmanian Parliament. His other brother, Stephen Crean, died while skiing alone at Charlotte Pass, New South Wales in 1985, aged 38; his body was not found for two years.

Crean was educated at Melbourne High School, before going on to Monash University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws.

Trade unionist[]

Following his graduation from Monash University, Crean worked in several roles with various trade unions, before becoming an official within the Storeman and Packers Union (SPU). In 1977, his father, Frank Crean, retired from Federal politics. Simon contested the Labor preselection for his father's comfortably safe seat of Melbourne Ports, but lost to former Victorian Labor Leader Clyde Holding, who went on to win the seat. In 1979, Crean was elected General Secretary of the SPU, which entitled him to a seat on the board of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).

In 1981, Crean was elected as ACTU Vice President, before in 1985 winning election as ACTU President.^[2] In this role, he played a key role in negotiating numerous agreements on wages and other industrial issues as part of the Prices and Incomes Accord with the Government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke, himself a former ACTU President.

Political career[]

Hawke and Keating Governments[]

Crean as a minister in the 1990s.

Ahead of the 1990 election, Crean was easily selected as the Labor candidate for the safe seat of Hotham; he was elected to Parliament on 24 March, and immediately entered the Cabinet as Minister for Science and Technology.^[2] He became Minister for Primary Industries and Energy in 1991, retaining this job when Paul Keating replaced Bob Hawke as Prime Minister in December 1991. After Labor's victory at the 1993 election, Keating moved Crean to become Minister for Employment, Education and Training, a role he would hold until 1996.^[3]

Opposition[]

After the Labor Party was heavily defeated at the 1996 election, Crean chose to contest the deputy leadership, but was defeated by Gareth Evans by 42 votes to 37.^[4]^[5] He joined the Shadow Cabinet, and after Evans retired from politics following Labor's 1998 election defeat, Crean was easily elected to replace him, becoming Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Treasurer. In January 2001, Crean was awarded the Centenary Medal.^[6]

In November 2001, following Labor's third consecutive election defeat, Crean was elected unopposed to replace Kim Beazley as Leader of the Labor Party, becoming Leader of the Opposition; Jenny Macklin was elected as his deputy, also unopposed.^[7] On 4 February 2003, Crean led the Labor Party to condemn Prime Minister John Howard's decision to commit Australian troops to the Iraq War.^[8]

Throughout most of 2003, poor opinion polling led to speculation of a leadership challenge against Crean; on 16 June 2003, Crean called a leadership spill intending to put an end to the leadership tensions, winning against Kim Beazley by 58 votes to 34. This failed to stop Crean losing even further ground to Howard in opinion polls as preferred Prime Minister, and on 28 November 2003, Crean announced that he would resign as Leader of the Labor Party, stating that he felt he no longer had the confidence of his colleagues; this made him the first Labor Leader not to contest a federal election since 1916. On 2 December, Shadow Treasurer Mark Latham defeated Kim Beazley in a ballot by 47 votes to 45 to replace Crean; Latham subsequently appointed Crean immediately as Shadow Treasurer. After Labor suffered a fourth consecutive defeat at the 2004 election, Crean resigned from his Shadow Treasurer position; he initially intended to resign from the Shadow Cabinet entirely, but at Latham's insistence, he accepted the role of Shadow Minister for Trade.^[9]

Crean retained this position when Beazley returned to the leadership in January 2005. However, in a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet in June 2005, Crean was demoted to Shadow Minister for Regional Development. He then faced a pre-selection challenge for his seat of Hotham from Martin Pakula, a member of his former union, the SPU, a move which Crean publicly blamed on Beazley, Hong Lim, and the Labor Right. Beazley refused to publicly support either candidate, but several frontbenchers, including Julia Gillard, supported Crean. This helped Crean to comfortably win the pre-selection for his seat; Crean singled out Senator Stephen Conroy for his part in the move against him, describing his front-bench colleague as "venal" and "one of the most disloyal people I've ever worked with in my life".^[10] Following the replacement of Kim Beazley by Kevin Rudd as leader in December 2006, Rudd reappointed Crean as Shadow Minister for Trade.

Rudd and Gillard Governments[]

Crean at the World Economic Forum in January 2010.

After Labor's victory at the 2007 election, new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd appointed Crean to the Cabinet as Minister for Trade. In this role, Crean visited Singapore and Vietnam to pursue Australia's trade and economic interests at a range of ministerial and other high-level meetings. Crean also attended the APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade and the OECD Roundtable on Sustainable Development on behalf of the Australian Government. Crean also co-chaired the 8th Joint Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee with the Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Võ Hồng Phúc in Hanoi, leading to an improvement in the trading relationship between Australia and Vietnam.^[11]

Following Julia Gillard's election unopposed as Prime Minister in June 2010, Crean was appointed to replace Gillard in the role of Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, with Stephen Smith taking over as Minister for Trade.^[3]^[12] After the 2010 election, Gillard reshuffled the Cabinet and appointed Crean as Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Development and Local Government.^[13]

On 21 March 2013, following significant leadership tensions arising from poor opinion polling, Crean called for Gillard to spill the leadership, with the aim of encouraging Rudd to challenge for the position of Prime Minister. This marked a change in Crean's position; he had long been a committed supporter of Gillard. Crean said he would challenge Wayne Swan for the role of Deputy Leader, if Rudd ran for the leadership. However, Rudd declined to run for the leadership, leaving Gillard to retain the leadership unopposed. Gillard quickly sacked Crean from the Cabinet, expressing publicly her disappointment at his "disloyalty" to her.^[14] Before his sacking, Crean had been one of the few federal politicians to have never spent a day on the backbench. After Rudd did eventually replace Gillard as Prime Minister in June 2013, Crean ran for the position of Deputy Leader but was defeated by Anthony Albanese by 61 votes to 38. Crean subsequently announced he would retire from politics at the 2013 election.

Crean retired as the first person to serve as a Cabinet Minister under four different Labor Prime Ministers (in Crean's case, Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard) since Jack Beasley (who served under James Scullin, John Curtin, Frank Forde and Ben Chifley).

Career after politics[]

In October 2014, Crean was elected chairman of the Australian Livestock Exporters Council.^[15] He was re-elected for a second term in 2016.^[16]

References[]

^ ABC News, 1 July 2013 Archived 31 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Biography – The Hon. Simon Crean MP, Australian Minister for Trade". Trademinister.gov.au. Archived from the original on 30 June 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "The Hon Simon Crean MP". Members and Senators. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
^ "Biography of Hon Gareth Evans AO QC". United Nations. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
^ "It's Hardly The Fix They're Used To". Australianpolitics.com. 14 June 2003. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
^ "Simon Findlay Crean – Centenary Medal". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. 1 January 2001. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
^ Clarke, Sarah (22 November 2001). "Crean officially endorsed as Labor leader". Lateline. Australia: ABC TV. Archived from the original (transcript) on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
^ "War on Iraq". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
^ "Crean falls on treasury portfolio sword". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 13 October 2004. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
^ "Factionalism stirs up anger in ALP". ABC Radio. Australia. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
^ Australian minister for trade to visit Vietnam this week^{[dead link]}
^ "Gillard reshuffles cabinet, without Rudd". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ "The Gillard ministry". The Age. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
^ Harrison, Dan; Hurst, Daniel (21 March 2013). "Rudd refuses to run for leadership, PM prevails". The Age. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
^ McAloon, Cath; Farley, Edwina (30 October 2014). "Simon Crean accepts live export role, saying ban on Indonesia trade was a mistake". ABC News. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
^ "Australian Livestock Exporters Council Board". Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2021.

External links[]

Search or browse Hansard for Simon Crean at OpenAustralia.org
Australian Trade Union Archives biographical entry
Crean resigns as shadow Treasurer
Mark Latham steps in to save Crean

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Lewis Kent	Member of Parliament for Hotham 1990–2013	Succeeded by Clare O'Neil
Political offices
Preceded by Barry Jones	Minister for Science and Technology 1990–1991	Succeeded by Ross Free
Preceded by John Kerin	Minister for Primary Industries and Energy 1991–1993	Succeeded by Bob Collins
Preceded by Kim Beazley	Minister for Employment, Education and Training 1993–1996	Succeeded by Amanda Vanstone
Preceded by Warren Truss	Minister for Trade 2007–2010	Succeeded by Stephen Smith
Preceded by Julia Gillard	Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations 2010	Succeeded by Chris Evans
Preceded by Julia Gillard	Minister for Social Inclusion 2010	Succeeded by Tanya Plibersek
Preceded by Anthony Albanese	Minister for Regional Development and Local Government 2010–2013	Succeeded by Anthony Albanese
Preceded by Peter Garrett	Minister for the Arts 2010–2013	Succeeded by Tony Burke
Party political offices
Preceded by Gareth Evans	Deputy Leader of the Labor Party 1998–2001	Succeeded by Jenny Macklin
Preceded by Kim Beazley	Leader of the Labor Party 2001–2003	Succeeded by Mark Latham
Trade union offices
Preceded by Cliff Dolan	President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions 1985–1990	Succeeded by Martin Ferguson

[1] ABC News, 1 July 2013 Archived 31 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine

[Trade-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Biography – The Hon. Simon Crean MP, Australian Minister for Trade". Trademinister.gov.au. Archived from the original on 30 June 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010.

[APH-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b "The Hon Simon Crean MP". Members and Senators. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 1 April 2013.

[Gareth1-4] "Biography of Hon Gareth Evans AO QC". United Nations. Retrieved 24 June 2010.

[Gareth2-5] "It's Hardly The Fix They're Used To". Australianpolitics.com. 14 June 2003. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2010.

[6] "Simon Findlay Crean – Centenary Medal". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. 1 January 2001. Retrieved 21 June 2012.

[Leader-7] Clarke, Sarah (22 November 2001). "Crean officially endorsed as Labor leader". Lateline. Australia: ABC TV. Archived from the original (transcript) on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2010.

[SMH1-8] "War on Iraq". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 24 June 2010.

[9] "Crean falls on treasury portfolio sword". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 13 October 2004. Retrieved 24 June 2010.

[venal-10] "Factionalism stirs up anger in ALP". ABC Radio. Australia. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2007.

[11] Australian minister for trade to visit Vietnam this week^{[dead link]}

[12] "Gillard reshuffles cabinet, without Rudd". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.

[13] "The Gillard ministry". The Age. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2010.

[14] Harrison, Dan; Hurst, Daniel (21 March 2013). "Rudd refuses to run for leadership, PM prevails". The Age. Retrieved 21 March 2013.

[15] McAloon, Cath; Farley, Edwina (30 October 2014). "Simon Crean accepts live export role, saying ban on Indonesia trade was a mistake". ABC News. Retrieved 6 July 2021.

[16] "Australian Livestock Exporters Council Board". Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2021.

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Prime Minister: Paul Keating
Cabinet	Kim Beazley Neal Blewett Nick Bolkus John Button Bob Collins Peter Cook Simon Crean John Dawkins Michael Duffy Gareth Evans Alan Griffiths Gerry Hand Brian Howe Ben Humphreys Ros Kelly John Kerin Robert Ray Graham Richardson Ralph Willis
Outer Ministry	Peter Baldwin Neal Blewett David Beddall Gordon Bilney Bob Brown Wendy Fatin Ross Free Jeannette McHugh David Simmons Peter Staples Michael Tate Robert Tickner
Parliamentary Secretaries	Laurie Brereton Peter Duncan Gary Johns Stephen Martin Bob McMullan Roger Price Con Sciacca Warren Snowdon

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Leaders	Chris Watson Andrew Fisher Billy Hughes Frank Tudor Matthew Charlton James Scullin John Curtin Ben Chifley H. V. Evatt Arthur Calwell Gough Whitlam Bill Hayden Bob Hawke Paul Keating Kim Beazley Simon Crean Mark Latham Kim Beazley Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard Kevin Rudd Bill Shorten Anthony Albanese
Deputy leaders	Gregor McGregor Billy Hughes George Pearce Albert Gardiner James Scullin Arthur Blakeley Ted Theodore Frank Forde H. V. Evatt Arthur Calwell Gough Whitlam Lance Barnard Jim Cairns Frank Crean Tom Uren Lionel Bowen Paul Keating Brian Howe Kim Beazley Gareth Evans Simon Crean Jenny Macklin Julia Gillard Wayne Swan Anthony Albanese Tanya Plibersek Richard Marles
Governments	Watson Curtin Chifley Whitlam Hawke Keating Rudd I Gillard Rudd II
Ministries	Watson Fisher 1 2 3 Hughes Scullin Curtin 1 2 Forde Chifley 1 2 Whitlam 1 2 3 Hawke 1 2 3 4 Keating 1 2 Rudd 1 Gillard 1 2 Rudd 2
Shadow cabinets	Crean Latham Beazley (2005–06) Rudd Shorten Albanese
State branches	Australian Capital Territory New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia
Party institutions	National Conference National Executive Australian Young Labor Australian Fabian Society Australian Labor Party Caucus Chifley Research Centre John Curtin House
Factions	Labor Right Labor Left Historical Ferguson Left Lang Labor
History	History of the Australian Labor Party 1916 split 1931 split 1955 split 1975 Australian constitutional crisis Faceless men Federal Labor (NSW) Gang of Four Industrial Groups The light on the hill Tree of Knowledge
Leadership votes	1907 1913 1922 1928 1931 1935 1945 1951 1954 1956 1959 1960 1966 1967 1968 1976 1977 (May) 1977 (Dec) 1982 1983 1991 (Jun) 1991 (Dec) 1996 2001 2003 (Jun) 2003 (Dec) 2005 2006 2010 2012 2013 (Mar) 2013 (Jun) 2013 (Oct) 2019

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