Such a wonderful afternoon on Sunday 2 May 2021 to have Peter and Richard in conversation. Their shared history of caring for our world laid the foundations for an inspiring discussion.

Peter is a long-time advocate and campaigner on a range of local and global issues. Vocalist and song writer since 1977 for Midnight Oil, one of Australia’s most successful bands, the youngest-ever President of the Australian Conservation Foundation (1989-1996), he entered federal parliament as the Member for Kingsford Smith in 2004 and served as a Minister in the Rudd/Gillard Labor governments from 2007-2013, initially in the Environment, Heritage and the Arts portfolio and later as Minister for School and Early Childhood Education and Youth. Among his legacies are a national waste policy, a resale royalty scheme for visual artists, and significant changes to the education system through the Gonski reforms, needs-based school funding and the first stages of a national curriculum. The ‘Oils’ are renowned for their fierce independent stance and active support of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and protection of the environment. Their protest and benefit shows, a 13-album career and an ARIA Outstanding Achievement Award in 1991 led to their induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006. Just the week prior to this conversation,Midnight Oil won the peer-voted APRA song of the year category for Gadigal Land. A member of the Order of Australia for contributions to the music industry and environment, and an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters (France), in 2010 Peter received the ‘Leaders for a Living Planet’ award from WWF Australia & International. 
Richard is best known for his two decades as the 7 o’clock news presenter for ABC Television. Before moving to Sydney in 1982, Richard was presenter of the current affairs programme Nationwide in Adelaide and was involved in many other national broadcasting projects, radio and TV, including educational programmes, wildlife documentaries and election-night specials. Richard is particularly remembered for his years as host of Letters and Numbers. A keen photographer, reflecting his fascination with the natural environment, he has used a vertical format for images of the landscape, exploring a cross-section of the elements in a location, from detail to distance. Richard has written two best-selling books on wildlife, Raising Archie and A Natural Selection and is co-author with partner Alison Mackay of several books including Wolves of the Sea, Pool, Impossible Pets and Zoo Album. Richard’s hilarious bestseller 20 Years from the Waist Up looks at the lighter side of broadcasting. Richard and Alison are regular travel feature writers and photographers for South Coast Style and South Coaster magazines. Richard is a governor of the Taronga Foundation, a director of the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales, a trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature and a patron of WIRES.