Rats in the Ranks

Rats in the Ranks is an Australian documentary film released in 1996. The film detailed the last weeks of the 1994 Leichhardt Council Mayoral elections. The filmmakers, Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson (later known for Facing the Music and other projects, but already well known) were allowed access to the innermost meetings of participants including the serving mayor Larry Hand and his Labor Party opponents. Larry Hand's exposure to a wider audience spawned the character Col Dunkley in the successful Australian TV series Grass Roots, and Rats in the Ranks is regarded as a classic in its portrayal of local politics in Australia.