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.
Articles on Cabinet papers 1994-95
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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.
After 1993, Paul Keating became ever-more dominant in cabinet policy discussions to ensure a legacy for the Labor government.
The arguments about a potential Australian republic in cabinet submissions suggest a failure of imagination and, more seriously, of trust.
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.
Top contributors
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Former Visiting Fellow, SPRU, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex
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Director, Vice-Chancellor's Centre of Public Ideas (CoPI) and Donald Horne Professor of History and Public Ideas, University of Canberra
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Sir John Bunting Chair of Public Administration, Australian National University
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Dosen Hubungan Internasional, Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) Yogyakarta
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Professor in History, Australian National University