In which even one’s pals cannot be trusted.
Mr Hawke and Mr Keating both agreed to be filmed for this important documentary. They were filmed separately.
Mr Paul Keating, Prime Minister of Australia:
Bob came to me and said he was going to get out, it was time I had a go, and I said, you know, ‘Thanks Bob’. I mean I was grateful, we’d had our differences, of course we had, but, you know, things were going along pretty well and we were in agreement about this.
Mr Bob Hawke, previous Prime Minister of Australia:
No, Paul’s recollection is simply not accurate. Everybody knew that after those trade figures were announced, it was incumbent on me to stay on as leader. Everybody knew that.
Mr Keating:
It was in this room where I’m talking to you now. I said, you know, ‘Bob, I hear you’re thinking of staying on,’ and he said, yes he was, and I said that wasn’t the way I had understood the arrangement. He’d promised me a go, you know, a fair go. I’d had to do it all at the Premiers’ Conference, you know, I’d pushed that all through, you know. I mean, where’s the mileage in that if I’m not going to be allowed to run the country?
Mr Hawke:
I don’t think there was any doubt that Paul was a very able fellow but he lacked the kind of maturity and breadth of vision that was going to be necessary for Australia during that period.
Mr Keating:
Bob didn’t have any breadth of vision. He didn’t care what the party decided as long as they agreed they’d decided something. He didn’t care about issues. A leader is supposed to lead. You know, that’s the way I operate. I’m a different kind of person from Bob.
Interviewer:
What was happening to the country at this stage?
Mr Keating:
Hang on a minute, I’m talking about myself. I’ mean, he had told me that he’d stand aside and, you know, give a man a go.
Mr Hawke:
I had indicated to Paul, as I had to others, that, as the recession deepened, the position was changing, the whole thing was up for review. It had to be…
Interviewer:
What were you doing about the recession?
Mr Hawke:
The what?
Interviewer:
The recession.
Mr Hawke:
Well, hang on, I’m telling you what I was doing about Paul.
Interviewer:
How many unemployed were there by this stage?
Mr Hawke:
Hang on a minute, I’m nearly up to the bit where he took my rattle.
Interviewer:
Was it a good idea to deregulate the economy?
Mr Keating:
I didn’t take his rattle, he said I could have it. Ask the other kids.
Interviewer:
We’re not governed by Government any more, are we? We’re governed by international corporations.
Mr Hawke:
I didn’t give him the rattle. He took the bloody rattle.
Mr Keating:
It was my turn. He’d had the bloody rattle for eight years.
And who’s got it now?
Mr Keating:
Bloody Bob hasn’t.