News footage from Paul Keating's personal VHS collection captures the chaos in Canberra during May 1991. After months of mounting tension between Prime Minister Bob Hawke and his Treasurer Paul Keating, a day was set to decide the future of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) leadership.

Keating's ambitions to lead the party had reached a crisis point. Hawke announced on 30 May that members of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party would vote on who should be leader, and consequently prime minister, at a special meeting scheduled for 8:00 am the following day. After the breakdown of the first meeting, Hawke rescheduled for 10:00 am, the same time a conference of State premiers was due to start. Premiers and news broadcasters were left in a state of confusion, unsure of Hawke or Keating's movements.

This atmosphere is reflected in the clips, which were part of a six-hour compilation of news reporting on this story, recorded onto two VHS tapes by Keating himself. Television stations had suspended their scheduled programming so that reporters could cover events live, and the excitement and confusion led to some awkward results.

In this clip from Network Ten, political correspondent Paul Bongiorno interrupts newsreader Ron Wilson mid-question to answer a phone call from a reporter calling in with live updates. Though momentarily caught off guard, Wilson picks up straight from where they left off. Bongiorno later picks up another call – and his casual chatter can be heard over a montage of prepared footage.

The report’s humorous and jarring tone reflects the nature of live reporting in the 1990s, when uncertainty over breaking news demanded improvisation. Eventually, the ballot was delayed again until 3 June, when Hawke emerged victorious. Another leadership spill took place that same December, this time with Keating winning.

From 1982 onwards, Keating took advantage of the opportunities offered by home video recording to document his career, the fortunes of the Hawke-Keating Governments, and Australian politics at large, creating what could be described as his own 'audiovisual scrapbook'.