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QUESTION: Sir Robert Menzies said that the Government....(Indistinct)

SIMON CREAN: You've got to lay the foundations. Opposition is the investment all politicians and parties have to make for government. I think it is a bad thing in a democracy when governments rule for too long unchallenged, so therefore oppositions need to keep them to account, but it needs to prepare the alternate, and appeal in a way that wins the votes and the confidence back to the public.

QUESTION: You've had to step aside and make way for a new leader. Are you worried that Kevin Rudd might find himself in the same position?

SIMON CREAN: Absolutely not. I mean, Kevin has had extraordinary success. Since he became Opposition Leader - he was Opposition Leader for a year. Bob Hawke was Opposition Leader for a month and never had to do it - actually be opposition leader within the Parliament. It's a pretty thankless task being Opposition Leader, but it is nevertheless essential for the party structure to really build the alternate, present as the alternate government. He's been the leader that delivered government, and he continues to enjoy enormous success and support within the party and the public.

QUESTION: Today though, the polls have shown a 14 per cent drop. What do you think is behind the lack of support from the public in today's news poll?

SIMON CREAN: Listen, I've been in politics 20 years. I've had to look at these polls every fortnight over the 20 years. The one thing you learn is to take the long-term view. Never be spooked by the current poll, have confidence in the agenda, and understand that this is the country that everyone is marvelling about overseas, from which I've just returned. We avoided the recession, the only developed country in the world to do it. It happened because we took decisive and effective action at the time. What we've got to do is to build on that legacy, on that confidence, and project the way in which that growth can be turned to the advantage of the people.

QUESTION: Why has support dropped then by 14 per cent in a month and that's the first time that's happened in 10 years?

SIMON CREAN: Well wait for the real poll. Wait for the real poll. It's the only one that matters. It's the one upon which we're all judged and it's the one where the other side is exposed. Now I happen to believe about Tony Abbott, people they take an interest when they see him on a bike. They lose interest when they hear what he's got to say. He hasn't been saying all that much lately, so he needs to be exposed a bit more too.

QUESTION: Just going back to your time as Leader of the Opposition, can you just reiterate one - what are one or more of your greatest moments?

SIMON CREAN: Yeah I think that the two most... the ones that I look back on - are the opposition to the Iraq war and the fighting of the Government on their excesses when it came to the so-called laws against terrorism. We were prepared to be supportive of the Government, taking strong measures to make sure that the nation was secure, but they were going to excesses. We stared them down and we achieved important changes in that regard. In the case of the Iraq war, I think we have been proven to be correct.

ENDS

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