Peter Garrett, who disbanded Midnight Oil in 2002 to focus on his political career, became Australia's environment minister in 2007. Peter Garrett, who disbanded Midnight Oil in 2002 to focus on his political career, became Australia's environment minister in 2007. (Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images)

Australia's environment minister was swapping the political stage Thursday for one he trod in a former incarnation — as the country's loudest anti-establishment rock star.

Peter Garrett, the towering, shaven-headed frontman for Midnight Oil, broke up the band in 2002 and pursued a career in politics that brought him into government less than two years ago.

But band members will come together to perform at a concert to raise funds for victims of Australia's worst wildfires, which killed more than 210 and destroyed thousands of homes in southern Victoria state last month.

Once known as champions of Aborigine rights and the environment, Midnight Oil has not played a gig since Garrett became a minister. Garrett has toed his Labour party's policy line and tries to avoid questions about his former views.

Now, Garrett may face a dilemma because lyrics in some of the band's most popular songs do not fit comfortably within the political mainstream.

"Can Midnight Oil field 20 whole minutes of material that wouldn't get Mr. Garrett sacked if he were to read it out in Parliament, rather than shrieking it while twitching violently to guitar music?" Sydney Morning Herald newspaper columnist Annabel Crabb wrote recently.

Songs criticized Australian policies

The band's 1987 breakthrough album Diesel and Dust called for Australia to be handed back to the Aborigines. U.S. and British imperialism were also favourite targets during the band's 26 years together.

Gary Morris, a longtime associate of the band, said Thursday there will be no satisfying some fans who contend the songs will have been picked specifically to keep the government happy.

Midnight Oil will perform at warmup concerts Thursday and Friday. Two big concerts take place Saturday — one in Sydney, with Coldplay headlining, and the other in the Victorian capital Melbourne, featuring Garrett's band.

Garrett's new career has created some friction with the band. Instead of rehearsing in Canberra on Wednesday, Garrett was representing Australia at coral conservation talks in Papua New Guinea.

Garrett flew into Canberra on Thursday morning and attended the final session of Parliament for the week before he was to make the short journey to the theatre.

The concert will be the first time he has sung in public since 2005, when the band performed at a fundraiser for victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami.