FORMER Labor leader Simon Crean has announced his retirement from politics. 
 
Mr Crean, who made a bid to be Kevin Rudd's deputy but was defeated in a ballot by Anthony Albanese, announced the end of his 23-year political career this morning, saying that he started "thinking seriously" about retiring after the events of March 21.

Mr Crean tried spectacularly to bring down Julia Gillard's leadership on March 21 by calling for a spill that Kevin Rudd did not contest.

Mr Crean has long denied that he will retire at this election, but there was strong speculation in Labor ranks that he has decided to go.

Mr Crean told Neil Mitchell on 3AW today that he told Mr Rudd he was not going to contest the election when the Prime Minister offered him a position in Cabinet after last week's ballot.

"I left him essentially the option to use the position to regenerate or if he needed me to plug a gap up until the election, I was more than happy to serve in that regard," Mr Crean said.

"It was only last night that he came back to me and said he wanted to exercise the former of those two points.

"And today of course with the announcement of the Cabinet, I thought it was important to put on the record my position publicly, rather than have it put on there for me."

Mr Crean said it "was time" to stand down.

"I think this is a decision that I have come to over a long period of time," he told 3AW.

"I’ve been in politics for 23 years. I’ve been in public life as you’ve indicated for over 40 years, Neil and I came in in the ascendency of Gough, it was time then and I think it’s time now.

"For me, if I stood again I would be 67 by the time the next election came around. I wouldn’t see myself resigning mid-term, I don’t think you should do that to an electorate ... unless of course there are ill health reasons.

"So I mean I started thinking seriously about this after the events of the 21st of March."

Mr Crean said he felt "vindicated" by the leadership change.

"It has happened - I think it is better for the party that it has happened," he said.

"We are now in a stronger position."

Mr Crean will follow Julia Gillard, Greg Combet and Peter Garrett to leave office in the wake of Mr Rudd's return to the leadership.

Mr Crean has been a minister in the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments and held portfolios including Education, Trade, Primary Industry, Regions and Arts.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/former-labor-leader-simon-crean-quits-poli...

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on Jul 1^st, 2013 at 10:01am:


Yep, and Rudd is going to have a very hard time finding anyone with experience to take on a cabinet portfolio. The Gillard government was bad enough through sheer incompetence, so imagine how pathetic a Rudd government would be with virtually no experienced Ministers!

____ wrote on Jul 1^st, 2013 at 10:05am:


But that would be lying...

____ wrote on Jul 1^st, 2013 at 10:09am:


... and Gillard is an angel, yeah?

____ wrote on Jul 1^st, 2013 at 10:22am:

decent person wtf?? she has a problem with men being men.
She has flooded Australia with boat people at the tax payers expense
She increased the cost of living with the influx of migrants and gave us a double whammy by hitting us with a carbon tax.

Gee the ALP is taking a very strong laxative

____ wrote on Jul 1^st, 2013 at 10:05am:




do you honestly think after all the appalling things she has said about Abbott that she would wish him well ???... if you believe that no wonder this lot sucked you in.

Pretty standard by Rudd

Crean supports Rudd

Crean gets knifed by Rudd in the new Ministry