Peter Garrett

Explore about the Famous Politician Peter Garrett, who was born in Australia on April 16, 1953. Analyze Peter Garrett’s net worth, age, bio, birthday, dating, height-weight, wiki. Investigate who is Peter Garrett dating now? Look into this article to know how old is Peter Garrett?

Peter Garrett Biography

Lead singer of the rock band Midnight Oil who used his fame to become a renowned environmental activist. He was the Australian Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth from 2010 to 2013.

His band sang musical protests to the U.S. foreign policy in the 1980s, with Garrett also attempting to enter politics.

He was voted to the Australian House of Representatives in 2004, and a year later he was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation and the Arts.

He had three children with wife of more than 25 years, Doris Garrett.

Rob Hirst was his bandmate and the drummer for Midnight Oil.

Born on 16 April 1953, in Wahroonga, Sydney, Garrett attended Gordon West Public School and then Barker College in Hornsby before studying politics at the Australian National University (ANU), where he was a resident at Burgmann College, and later law at the University of New South Wales. His father died while he was still at school. His mother died in a fire at the family home, during his period at university. About the same time he became a singer with the Australian rock band Midnight Oil in 1973, after responding to an advertisement placed by one of the band’s founding members, Rob Hirst. In tandem with their musical and commercial success, the band were long identified with environmental causes. They were particularly critical of United States’ military and foreign policies during the 1980s.

Peter Robert Garrett AM (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician.

In 1977, Peter’s mother perished in a house fire in their Lindfield home.

Garrett’s first attempt at entering politics was in December 1984, when the Nuclear Disarmament Party invited him to stand for a New South Wales seat in the Australian Senate at the federal election. He refused at first, but after consulting the band, he agreed on condition that he head the ticket. He needed 12.5% of the vote to win a seat in the Senate voting system, but a primary vote of 9.6% was insufficient when Labor gave its preferences to the Democrats ahead of the NDP.

Garrett was president of the Australian Conservation Foundation (1989–93, 1998–2004). He joined the international board of Greenpeace in 1993 for a two-year term. He served as adviser and patron to various cultural and community organisations, including Jubilee Debt Relief, and was a founding member of the Surfrider Foundation.

In 2000, Garrett was awarded the Australian Humanitarian Foundation Award in the environment category and in 2001 he received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of New South Wales. He left Midnight Oil in 2002 to concentrate on his environmental and social activism, effectively spelling the end for the group.

On and off stage, Midnight Oil often made political statements. At the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the group performed before the Prime Minister, John Howard, and a television audience of hundreds of millions, wearing black overalls bearing the word “sorry”. This referred to the Howard Government’s refusal to apologise to Aboriginal Australians for the former policy of removing of Aboriginal children from their families.

Garrett became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2003 “For service to the community as a prominent advocate for environmental conservation and protection, and to the music industry.”

Garrett is the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. He served as President of the Australian Conservation Foundation for ten years and, in 2003, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to the environment and music industry. He is also known for his signature bald head, his unique and eccentric dance style, and a “mesmerising onstage presence”.

In June 2004, Labor leader Mark Latham announced that Garrett would become an Australian Labor Party candidate for the House of Representatives at the 2004 federal election, in the safe New South Wales seat of Kingsford Smith which was being vacated by the former Cabinet minister Laurie Brereton. There was some initial criticism from Labor members in the electorate, as this overrode the local branch’s wishes. He won an easy victory on 9 October, increasing the Labor majority there.

Following the Asian tsunami of Boxing Day 2004, Garrett and the other members of Midnight Oil performed for two gigs as part of the fund-raising event WaveAid.

In June 2005, Garrett was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation and the Arts.

In December 2006 Kevin Rudd, the newly elected Labor Party leader, appointed Garrett to his Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment & Heritage, Arts. Garrett had voted for Rudd in the December 2006 leadership spill, a decision he would later regret saying it was “certainly the biggest” mistake he made in his political career.

Garrett campaigned for Labor in the 2006 Victorian state election. There was controversy when he sent a letter to the constituents of the seat of Melbourne, where Labor and the Greens were embroiled in a tight contest. In the letter Garrett urged voters not to vote for the Greens, claiming they were in alliance with the conservative Liberal party. This incurred the ire of Greens leader and former Garrett ally, Bob Brown who accused Garrett of having “sold out” and of going against the green movement, since joining the Labor Party.

In 2007 the artist Michael Mucci entered a portrait of Garrett in the Archibald Prize.

In 2007, he refused as incoming arts minister the federal funding that would have enabled a remount of Elke Neidhardt’s acclaimed Adelaide production of Der Ring des Nibelungen in 2008.

On 20 December 2007, Garrett approved a controversial plan to dredge Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay. This move attracted strong criticism from environmental groups who were concerned that the 23 million cubic metres of sand, rock and contaminated silt dredged from the bay’s shipping channels will affect fishing and tourism in the area.

In the 2007 Federal election, Garrett was re-elected to his seat with a 4.56% swing towards him. However, his campaign was fraught with a number of tactical errors, including journalist Steve Price claiming that Garrett had said to him that Labor would simply change all their policies once they got into power. This was disputed by Garrett as a “short jocular conversation”.

On 7 July 2007, Garrett presented Crowded House at the Australian leg of Live Earth.

Garrett announced in October 2008 that the government would be withdrawing all A$ 2.6 million funding from Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM).

Garrett approved a major expansion of South Australia’s Beverley uranium mine in August 2008, saying the uranium mine would use world’s best practice for environmental protection. Garrett’s decision was praised by the uranium industry, but criticised by the Australian Conservation Foundation which said the decision would result in the mine spreading acid and radioactive pollution over 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi).

In December 2009 Garrett rejected the proposal to impound the Mary River through the construction of the Traveston Crossing Dam. Garrett determined that the impacts of the proposed dam on the threatened species of Australian lungfish, the Mary River Turtle and the Mary River cod would be too great and unacceptable and of national environmental significance.

In 2009, Garrett would not give the proposed A$2 billion Tamar Valley mill approval until more studies were undertaken on its potential impact on marine environments. A new condition was put on the mill meaning Gunns could be liable for criminal and civil penalties if the mill is approved and breaks defined “environmental limits”.

Labor and Garrett were criticised for accepting the Howard Government’s decision to approve the plans for Gunns Ltd to build the Bell Bay Pulp Mill in the Tamar Valley, Tasmania. (In January 2009, as Labor’s environment minister, Garrett placed further conditions on Gunns with a request for detailed studies on potential marine impacts. In early 2014, with Gunns Ltd in receivership, the pulp mill is unlikely to proceed.)

On 14 March 2009, Garrett performed live at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as part of Midnight Oil, for Sound Relief, to raise money for the Victorian bushfire appeal.

In 2009, the French Government appointed Garrett an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. In 2010, the World Wide Fund for Nature presented him with their Leaders for a Living Planet award.

In 2009, the French Government appointed Garrett an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. In 2010, the World Wide Fund for Nature presented him with their Leaders for a Living Planet award.

In a reshuffle of the ministry, Rudd demoted Garrett as Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts. This demotion was in response to Garrett’s administration of the Home Insulation Program (HIP) that was linked to four deaths, over 100 house fires and allegations of fraud. It was revealed in May 2010 that Garrett had written to Prime Minister Rudd on four occasions raising concerns about safety. Further to this, following the 2010 Labor leadership spill, Gary Gray was reported to believe that Garrett was demoted because “Rudd had a shocking interview on The 7.30 Report and needed a scapegoat”. Gray stated:

He was the Australian Labor Party member of the House of Representatives for the seat of Kingsford Smith, New South Wales, from October 2004 to August 2013. After the Labor Party won in the November 2007 election, Garrett was appointed Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. On 8 March 2010, his portfolio title was changed to Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts. He continued in this role in Julia Gillard’s first Ministry. He was re-elected at the 2010 election, and was appointed Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He was sworn into this portfolio on 14 September 2010 as a member of the Second Gillard Ministry; following a leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, Garrett resigned his position as Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth and moved to the backbench. He later announced that he would not be contesting his seat at the next federal election.

On 7 September 2011, as Education Minister, Garrett announced an alteration of the National School Chaplaincy Program by offering schools the opportunity to employ, instead of “a religious support worker” (chaplain), a “secular student well-being officer”. In June 2012, the High Court held that the Commonwealth’s funding agreement for the program is invalid.

What's Peter Garrett Net Worth 2024

Peter Garrett Family