The 1994 Employment Minister Simon Crean even had to be briefed by officials on the content of the policy when Working Nation was released.
Julian Smith/AAP
Cabinet papers released today by the National Archives show Working Nation began as a rational exercise but was soon overtaken by a desire to make the policy everything to everyone.
The Keating cabinet in 1995, featuring John Faulkner (back row, centre), whose vision for a carbon price was thwarted.
AAP Image/National Archives of Australia
Paul Keating’s government, faced with the prospect of international action on climate change, took steps to preserve the coal industry - a tactic that has been rebooted many times since.
Paul Keating drove a policy agenda that had been rallied after the 1993 victory.
AAP/NAA
After 1993, Paul Keating became ever-more dominant in cabinet policy discussions to ensure a legacy for the Labor government.
Queen Elizabeth signs the visitors’ book at Parliament House, while Prime Minister Paul Keating and Parliament House officials look on in February 1992.
National Archives of Australia
Hangga Fathana, Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) Yogyakarta
It was Paul Keating himself who first raised the idea of a security agreement between Indonesia and Australia in June 1994 to Indonesian President Soeharto.