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Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett unleashed an extraordinary barrage of criticism at oil and gas giant Woodside and the State Government during the iconic Oz rock band’s final WA concert on Sunday night.
Midway through the two-hour performance at RAC Arena, Garrett halted the farewell gig to lambast Woodside’s multi-billion Scarborough gas project off the Burrup Peninsula, home to sacred ancient rock art.
Wearing a t-shirt reading “Woodside = Climate Wrecker” below screens reading “Woodside Ecocide”, the 69-year-old rocker and former Federal Member for Kingsford Smith described the Perth-based company as “criminals” during a passionate tirade lasting more than three minutes.
“It is a corporate, moral and cultural crime that they are committing,” Garrett declared during a speech specifically tailored for the band’s Perth show.
“I used that word advisedly, because back in law school one of the things you learn is that someone is guilty of something if they cause harm whilst knowing what the consequences are — foreseeable harm, just like the tobacco companies used to do, fudging their way around the world while people died of cancer.
“The same thing is happening with fossil fuel companies, fudging their way around this State and around the world while the climate is out of control.”
Some audience members cheered and others shouted “play some music” while most listened with varying degrees of engagement and support.
“It’s time for Woodside to stop,” Garrett concluded. “It’s time to put whales and marine life and our future ahead of greenhouse gas emissions and money.
“This is dangerous, it’s polluting and it must stop now.”
At the end of the Midnight Oil singer’s spray, big screens displayed the email addresses of Premier Mark McGowan and environment minister Reece Whitby.
Midnight Oil guitarist Jim Moginie then played an evocative solo over footage of whales swimming off the Pilbara coast contrasted with images of deep sea gas drilling and pollution.
These pictures were interspersed with slogans calling for an end to both Woodside’s Scarborough and Browse projects, and championing renewable energy.
“Woodside poisons precious marine environments,” one slide proclaimed.
The band also shared the website addresses of Greenpeace and the Conservation Council of WA.
At least one Woodside board member, former State treasurer Ben Wyatt, was among 11,000 fans at RAC Arena.
The mid-show protest was a one-off especially created for the WA audience.
“Western Australia makes a big contribution to the national interest, and we know that,” Garrett said from the stage.
“And we know that the leaders in Western Australia have got the interests of Western Australians at heart.
“But that big interest must be put aside and we need to think about the consequences of what’s happening.”
Earlier in his polemic, Garrett said “our precious world” was “edging towards unliveability” due to the production of greenhouse gas emission and burning of fossil fuels.
“Whether you want to hear this or not in the corporate boxes,” he said, “when you’re making a lot of money you still have a moral responsibility to future generations, which is more important than your fiduciary responsibility to shareholders.
“It’s more important to think about the long-term and not the short-term.”
