Newly released papers illuminate republic bid in the 90's

Recently declassified documents show how passionate former prime minister Paul Keating was about Australia becoming a republic. But they also show he knew he was putting forward a model the people did not want. The new picture comes as government papers from 1994 and 1995 have been released to the public. They show an Australia apparently ready for a change, facing nuclear tests in the Pacific and reaching out to Indonesia.

Paul Keating visiting Hellfire Pass in 1994. Source: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA