Rocker runs for Labour

2004-06-10 12:03

Sydney - A left-wing environmentalist and former singer for Australian rock band Midnight Oil announced on Thursday he will run for Parliament on the opposition Labour Party's ticket in elections expected later this year.

Peter Garrett, 51, ended days of speculation over his political plans, saying he was accepting Labour's invitation to stand, but admitted his decision wasn't easy.

"Politics is an imperfect game, we all know that. We see it on television every night; and yet it's the best game we have for making the country work better," said Garrett, who will run in a safe Labour district in Sydney.

He said he had considered joining the Greens Party or remaining in his position as president of the Australia Conservation Foundation.

"But I do want to make a national contribution for the life of the nation and the only way that I could see that I could do that effectively is by joining the Labour Party," he said.

Garrett dismissed reports splashed across Australia's front pages Thursday that he hadn't voted in the past 10 years.

Voted overseas

"I have voted in previous elections, I have voted in referenda, I have even voted when I was overseas," he told reporters, without specifically saying if the reports on his recent voting record were true.

"I thought I was on the electoral roll. I thought I had a silent enrolment. I have received no communication from the Electoral Commission that I'm not on the roll," he said.

Silent enrolment is reserved for those whose addresses can't be made public for security reasons.

Voting is mandatory at Australian elections, with fines of up to A$50 (about R250) for failing to vote.

Prime Minister John Howard, who declared himself a Midnight Oil fan, has yet to announce a date for the next parliamentary elections. But a poll is expected before the US presidential elections in November.

Labour leader Mark Latham said he expected his star recruit to eventually become a senior minister.

"He's got a big contribution to make and of course we want that contribution to be made in the most appropriate capacity," Latham said. "I'd be surprised that if sometime in the future Peter wasn't a front line minister in a Labour government."

While the party members choose which of the elected lawmakers become ministers, the party leader's preference carries weight.

Garrett's appointment was a snub to local Labour members who had demanded the right to choose their next candidate.

With his distinctive bald head, wild dancing and strident voice, Garrett is one of Australia's most recognisable singers. He announced in 2002 that the band was breaking up after 25 years.

In recent years, Garrett has focused on campaigns against genetic engineering, coastal development, the nuclear industry and removing the US military presence from Australia.

In the early 1980s, Garrett was narrowly defeated in a bid for a seat in Parliament's upper house on a Nuclear Disarmament ticket.

- AP