Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil made a bold career change from being one of Australia’s most prominent musicians to working in politics.
The singer started working in the industry as a part of the Nuclear Disarmament Party in December 1984.
He was invited to stand for a NSW seat in the Australian Senate at the federal election.
In June 2004, Labor Leader Mark Latham announced that Garrett would become an Australian Labor Party candidate for the House of Representatives; he was successfully elected.
Garrett was later appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation and the Arts. He campaigned for Labor in the 2006 Victorian state election.
That same year, Kevin Rudd invited Garrett to join his Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Climate Change, the Environment, Heritage and the Arts.
By 2007, he became the cabinet’s Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts.
His political career was going well, and in 2010, he was appointed the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth.
When Julia Gillard was defeated by Rudd, Garrett announced his resignation as Education Minister. Later, he shared that he would not seek re-election and ended his political career.
