Keating irritated by flash bulbs at dinner

An angry Paul Keating gave a group of photographers in Sydney a ticking off, seconds before coming face to face with Bob Hawke, the man he ousted to become prime minister in 1991.

Mr Hawke’s appearance at the ACTU conference’s black tie dinner at the Sydney Exhibition Centre on Wednesday night had set tongues wagging, with speculation his simmering 20-year feud with Mr Keating could erupt in front of 500 union delegates.

Mr Keating arrived 20 minutes later to deliver a scheduled keynote speech.

The two ALP grandees saw each other as they crossed the dining room, eventually being seated with their backs to each other.

Several photographers had gathered to try and catch any encounter between the old political warriors.

But it was they who bore the brunt of any irritation Mr Keating harboured.

“You’ve got your pictures now buzz off,” a clearly rattled Mr Keating told the snappers, while trying to chat with newly-elected ACTU secretary Dave Oliver.

The former prime minister then emphasised the point by angrily jabbing his finger and spelling out “orf”, before returning to his chat.

Later on, Mr Hawke ended the dinner by clambering on stage and singing an ACTU song.

Hundreds of diners got to their feet and sang along with the former prime minister, who clearly revelled in his role as impromptu conductor.

The rift between Mr Keating and Mr Hawke dates back to 1991 when Mr Keating won a Labor caucus vote to become prime minister.

In 2010 a letter written by Mr Keating – details of which were published by The Australian newspaper – accused Mr Hawke of going “missing” for four of his eight years as prime minister.

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