Australia is ready to rock
Toni Collette drives a hybrid car, catches the ferry when she can and uses green power in her home. The renowned actress and recording artist, who also offsets the pollution generated by her plane travel by investing in new energy initiatives, has been a conservation campaigner for the past decade. Her green creadentials make her the perfect performer at this Saturday’s Sydney Live Earth concert. “Live Earth is a fantastic opportunity to create awareness about climate change and what we, as individuals, can do to help,” she told The Daily Telegraph yesterday. The former Blacktowngirl will take to the stage with her
band The Finish and will be joined by a host of other performers including Crowded House, Wolfmother and Sneaky Sound System. The Live Earth event, backed by former US vice-president Al Gore, aims to raise awareness about climate change “This is the issue. Nothing else will matter if this is not dealt with,” Collette said.
Aussie Stadium, which will host the event say they will switch off all non-essential lighting on the night, in addition to other carbon-abating measures implemented over the past year. Other iniatives including using rainwater captured in large underground tanks to flush toilets. The concert will mark the homecoming of much-loved Crowded House, who will headline the star-studded event. Frontman Neil Finn said it was appropriate the band launch their new album Time On Earth here as they farewelled the world from the Sydney Opera House forecourt more than a decade ago. More than 44,000 tickets have been sold to the Aussie Stadium show, reflecting the findings of a survey by Moshtix that Australians music fans are going to more gigs by local artists than ever. Our pubs and clubs were also favoured over a stadium show by an international act and 38 per cent of Australians preferred to get their music fix by going to a gig.