Overview
- Public Record Office Victoria has made 332 boxes from the 1982–1990 Cain and Kirner cabinets available after the 30‑year closure expired on December 31.
- Files detail choices on poker machines, liquor‑law changes, early casino planning, plus a contested tightening of gun laws following the 1987 Hoddle Street and Queen Street massacres.
- Papers outline the sale of the State Bank of Victoria to the Commonwealth Bank, financed by privatising 30% of the Commonwealth Bank after losses tied to Tricontinental.
- Documents chart governance reforms under John Cain, including a cabinet office, a director of public prosecutions, freedom of information laws, plus electoral changes to one vote, one value.
- Archivists call the opening a significant transparency step, with scheduled releases next for Kennett in 2032, Bracks and Brumby in 2041, then Baillieu in 2042 before annual 30‑year openings begin.