Simon Crean, a man of intellect and principle steeped in Labor tradition

Former Labor leader Simon Crean posthumously made a Companion of the Order of Australia in King’s Birthday Honours List.

Simon Crean has been posthumously a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for “eminent ­service”.

Simon Crean dedicated his life to serving the Australian people, beginning in the union movement in the 1970s and ‘’80s, in parliament from 1990 to 2013, and in business and education post-politics.

Crean, who died while leading a business delegation to Germany in June 2023, was posthumously made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for “eminent ­service”.

Reflecting on his life in a series of interviews with The Australian, Crean was most proud of his time as ACTU president (1985-90) helping to implement the Accord between unions and the Labor government led by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

The Accord, which kept a lid on inflationary pressures by moderating wage claims in return for social wage benefits such as universal healthcare, increased investment in school, trade and university education, and targeted welfare support, provided the basis for Labor’s landmark economic reforms.

This co-operation, Crean maintained, was the high point of the party-union nexus.

After his election to parliament in the Melbourne seat of Hotham in 1990, Crean would serve in a wide variety of cabinet portfolios under four Labor prime ministers: Hawke, Mr Keating, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. It was a rare distinction. He remained a Hawke loyalist and a torchbearer for the Hawke-Keating Labor tradition.

As minister responsible for primary industries (1991-93), Crean won high praise from predominantly conservative farming groups. As minister responsible for education, training and employment (1993-96), he saw the enormous economic opportunity for Australia. He later served with distinction in the trade portfolio (2007-10) and again made his mark in the regional development and arts ministries (2010-13).

Crean earned admiration from political opponents, and business and community groups, for his intelligent and principled approach to public policy.

He was respectful of others but could be frank and direct in his views, and lamented that those to whom he had given loyalty did not always reciprocate it.

His father, Frank, had been a state politician and was elected to federal parliament in April 1951, a couple of years after his son’s birth in February 1949. Frank was deputy prime minister and treasurer in the Whitlam government.

Simon Crean with then prime minister Bob Hawke.

Politics was in the blood. Crean recalled his father hosting Gough Whitlam, Arthur Calwell and HV “Doc” Evatt at their Middle Park home in inner-city Melbourne.

He studied economics at Mon­ash University and rose quickly through the ranks of the Federated Storemen and Packers Union, and the ACTU. Crean was often talked about as a future leader.

He was Labor’s deputy leader (1998-2001) under Kim Beazley and leader (2001-03).

His leadership was largely unhappy and he resigned without facing an election due to internal destabilisation.

Crean made a principled stand opposing the deployment of troops to Iraq in 2003, for which he was ultimately vindicated by the disastrous war that it was, and took on factions and unions to reform Labor’s structures.

Surveying his career, Crean was asked if he would do anything differently in hindsight. “I have no regrets,” he responded.