Labor In Power

Labor In Power Season 1 episodes

2. 01

   S01 E018 June 1993

   Taking Power

   59m

   Two men have dominated Australian political life for more than a decade - Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. Through the 1980s and the early 1990s, Hawke as Prime Minister and Keating as Treasurer formed one of the greatest partnerships in Australian political history. But they were also rivals, and both wanted the top job.

3. 02

   S01 E0215 June 1993

   Taxing Times

   59m

   It was during the disastrous 1984 election campaign that Bob Hawke siezed on the idea of a Taxation Summit rather than put forward definite tax reforms. Recalling his earlier success with the National Economic Summit, the Prime Minister reached for community census. Paul Keating was furious.

4. 03

   S01 E0322 June 1993

   Conserving Power

   59m

   By 1987, the Hawke government was fighting for its life. Bob Hawke craved something no other Labor Prime Minister had ever achieved - three terms in government. A miracle, preferably more than one, was needed to prevent the government being wiped out by angry voters.

5. 04

   S01 E0429 June 1993

   The Recession We Had to Have

   59m

   The bacon Paul Keating prophesied he would bring home with the 1988 budget turned out to be charred gristle. In the lead-up to the October 19, 1987, stockmarket crash, the economy was virtually on fire. The Reserve Bank had resisted raising interest rates until April 1988, and by then it was too late.

6. 05

   S01 E056 July 1993

   The Sweetest Victory

   59m

   At the end of January, 1991, Prime Minister Bob Hawke finally and openly reneged on his promise to stand aside for Paul Keating. A disastrous leadership contest was now inevitable.

Episode names, air dates, runtimes and summaries: TMDB. Air dates are the first broadcast anywhere.