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As the country crawls out of a COVID-19 nightmare, with its social conscience overshadowed by seemingly more desperate economic matters, Peter Garrett is preparing to again step up and correct the imbalance. One of Australia’s most influential voices during the 1980s and 1990s is putting the band back on the road, preparing to ensure that placing a First Nations agreement in the Australian constitution becomes a national moral and political discussion that can’t be ignored. The power and the passion of Garrett’s discourse hasn’t ebbed over time, and he feels as strongly about this Indigenous issue as he ever did when, as the lead singer of Midnight Oil, his band packed venues to the rafters across the country. But other issues, too, equally stir his zeal, despite the fact that – at 67 years old and following the loss of the Oils’ beloved bass player “Bones” Hillman to cancer last November – there would be a strong argument for him pursuing a quieter, less engaged life. The smoke haze from last summer’s awful bushfires, which choked the country’s south-east and swelled out over Sydney Harbour, sending images circulating around the world, provided a salient reminder to him of our country’s poor performance on climate change. “I think that the lack of real action on climate change is nothing less than a national scandal,” Garrett told The Canberra Times. “The politics of climate have been vexed for over a decade. “At the same time, the climate crisis is literally upon us and we saw it as vividly and as tangibly as you could ever expect in the fire season of 2019-20. “The rest of the rest of the world is moving and will move much faster under a Biden presidency, there’s absolutely no doubt about that, and the economics is shifting too, on climate. “The lack of real action and the continual playing around with petty, fringe politics and the word games that emanate from this [federal Coalition] government on climate is a tragic farce. “I occasionally hear reassuring and soothing voices, including … some of the younger voices from Parliament on the conservative side [of politics], but this is far and away the most significant and important present, medium- and long-term issue that this government has to grapple with. “And there are no signs, absolutely none, not even a fig leaf of action that they are willing to take it seriously. “And for me, as someone who in various capacities, both as a musician, working in the Parliament and with NGOs, I’m in a state of utter despair about it.” However, Garrett stopped short of levelling any direct criticism at the Labor Party, with whom he was an MP and a senior minister, for not being more forceful and assertive on the issue. “The last thing I want to be is the ex-cabinet minister who creates a headline by bagging his colleagues who are in Parliament; I’m strongly supportive of Labor but there’s no doubt [climate change] policies can and should be strengthened in the lead-up to the next election, and that’s my expectation,” he said. Garrett will be bringing the Makarrata [Truth-telling”] Live project, combining Midnight Oil’s powerful delivery with the voices of leading Indigenous artists, to Stage 88 Canberra next March as part of a series of open-air concerts, reinvigorating but condensing a tour schedule which had been planned for early 2020 but shut down during the pandemic. “From our point of view, this [First Nations treaty] is a supremely important issue to bring the country together, to unify Australia, to have that big moral and political step forward that will make us a better place, a better country, and honouring and respecting and making good what happened to the First Australians when the British jumped ashore,” he said. “To us that seems like important and urgent business, and that it can be done. The impediments to getting it done only lie in the leadership of the land.” Fans will also be delighted to learn that a new Midnight Oil album, the 13th studio album by the band, is in the works and set for release in mid-2021. “When we pulled songs out [for the Makarrata Project], we had, surprise, surprise, quite a lot of songs, another 12 or 13, that will make up another Midnight Oil record,” he said.
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As the country crawls out of a COVID-19 nightmare, with its social conscience overshadowed by seemingly more desperate economic matters, Peter Garrett is preparing to again step up and correct the imbalance.
One of Australia’s most influential voices during the 1980s and 1990s is putting the band back on the road, preparing to ensure that placing a First Nations agreement in the Australian constitution becomes a national moral and political discussion that can’t be ignored.
The power and the passion of Garrett’s discourse hasn’t ebbed over time, and he feels as strongly about this Indigenous issue as he ever did when, as the lead singer of Midnight Oil, his band packed venues to the rafters across the country.
But other issues, too, equally stir his zeal, despite the fact that – at 67 years old and following the loss of the Oils’ beloved bass player “Bones” Hillman to cancer last November – there would be a strong argument for him pursuing a quieter, less engaged life.
The smoke haze from last summer’s awful bushfires, which choked the country’s south-east and swelled out over Sydney Harbour, sending images circulating around the world, provided a salient reminder to him of our country’s poor performance on climate change.
“I think that the lack of real action on climate change is nothing less than a national scandal,” Garrett told The Canberra Times.
“The politics of climate have been vexed for over a decade.
“At the same time, the climate crisis is literally upon us and we saw it as vividly and as tangibly as you could ever expect in the fire season of 2019-20.
Midnight Oil’s Martin Rotsey (left), Peter Garrett, Jim Moginie and Rob Hirst. Picture: Daniel Boud
“The rest of the rest of the world is moving and will move much faster under a Biden presidency, there’s absolutely no doubt about that, and the economics is shifting too, on climate.
“The lack of real action and the continual playing around with petty, fringe politics and the word games that emanate from this [federal Coalition] government on climate is a tragic farce.
“I occasionally hear reassuring and soothing voices, including … some of the younger voices from Parliament on the conservative side [of politics], but this is far and away the most significant and important present, medium- and long-term issue that this government has to grapple with.
“And there are no signs, absolutely none, not even a fig leaf of action that they are willing to take it seriously.
“And for me, as someone who in various capacities, both as a musician, working in the Parliament and with NGOs, I’m in a state of utter despair about it.”
However, Garrett stopped short of levelling any direct criticism at the Labor Party, with whom he was an MP and a senior minister, for not being more forceful and assertive on the issue.
“The last thing I want to be is the ex-cabinet minister who creates a headline by bagging his colleagues who are in Parliament; I’m strongly supportive of Labor but there’s no doubt [climate change] policies can and should be strengthened in the lead-up to the next election, and that’s my expectation,” he said.
Garrett will be bringing the Makarrata [Truth-telling”] Live project, combining Midnight Oil’s powerful delivery with the voices of leading Indigenous artists, to Stage 88 Canberra next March as part of a series of open-air concerts, reinvigorating but condensing a tour schedule which had been planned for early 2020 but shut down during the pandemic.
“From our point of view, this [First Nations treaty] is a supremely important issue to bring the country together, to unify Australia, to have that big moral and political step forward that will make us a better place, a better country, and honouring and respecting and making good what happened to the First Australians when the British jumped ashore,” he said.
“To us that seems like important and urgent business, and that it can be done. The impediments to getting it done only lie in the leadership of the land.”
Fans will also be delighted to learn that a new Midnight Oil album, the 13th studio album by the band, is in the works and set for release in mid-2021.
“When we pulled songs out [for the Makarrata Project], we had, surprise, surprise, quite a lot of songs, another 12 or 13, that will make up another Midnight Oil record,” he said.
