Midnight Oil has set sail from Far North Queensland to support the preservation of Australia’s greatest living treasure – The Great Barrier Reef.
The band travelled 2 hours offshore from Cairns to unveil a “Coral Not Coal” banner on the spectacularly beautiful Vlasoff Sand Cay which sits in the middle of the reef. Epic photo’s and film taken at this location, plus on site interviews with band members and local marine science experts, will feature in TV and radio specials to air on Foxtel’s MAX and Triple M over coming weeks.
As a further part of these efforts the Oils performed and recorded a special benefit gig at the Tank Arts Centre on Friday night. All proceeds from the show went to local research organisation https://www.greatbarrierreeflegacy.org/ who helped organise the sand cay expedition aboard local charter boats Aroona and Flying Fish.
Other environmental groups also had a strong presence at the Tanks gig including the Australian Marine Conservation Society whose efforts to stop the Adani coal mine include this petition which the band urged all attendees to sign on the night: https://www.fightforourreef.org.au/midnightoil/
The band played a strongly themed set of songs that all had a direct link to the reef and the challenges it faces from unsustainable development and dangerous climate change.
Oils frontman Peter Garrett was particularly vocal with his onstage comments about the devastating potential environmental impact of the Adani Coal mine. He noted that reef tourism creates sustainable jobs in greater numbers than largely automated coal mines and does so without needing to divert a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money to an overseas corporation with a dubious track record.
Garrett told the crowd “it’s one thing to talk about this stuff and it’s another to do something” and he and the rest of the band urged the crowd to get behind the #StopAdani campaign. Later in the gig he said pointedly “this is the generation that’s got to do the hard work”.
Midnight Oil’s “Great Circle 2017” World Tour played the Kuranda Amphitheatre in the rainforests near Cairns last night and now heads to Townsville and Rockhampton for more sold out shows before hitting South East Queensland next week.
Patrons attending next Saturday night’s sold out gig on the Sunshine Coast are strongly advised to plan their transport NOW. On-site parking tickets are very limited and can only be purchased in advance for a price designed to encourage carpooling. All other patrons will need to use public transport and/or one of the free ‘park and ride’ services being supplied by the promoter and the band. Fans who drive to the venue on the night without having pre-purchased a ticket will not be able to park there and drop off zones are expected to be congested. Please check out http://www.bigpineapple.com.au/event/midnight-oil-the-great-circle-2017 for all the details and plan ahead to make your night more enjoyable.
Check out all of Midnight Oil’s Australian dates here