Cabinet papers 1990-91: Hawke's fight to keep mining out of Kakadu helped unseat him

The release of the 1990-91 cabinet papers details a bitter struggle between Hawke and his ministers that weakened his hold on the leadership

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Every so often in politics, a perfect storm rolls in. Thunder, lightning, squalls and a career-ending moment. In 1991, the Coronation Hill mining project was just such a storm.

Like all big issues, it echoes many of today's debates. The fight around land use, between miners, Indigenous people and the environmental movement. But overlaid like a shroud was the leadership struggle between the then prime minister Bob Hawke who was against the mining project, and his treasurer, Paul Keating, who was in favour. The two sides were indivisible.