Canberra is a public service town with attitude – even our PM and Federal Arts Minister rock out – and this Sunday, public servants are swapping lanyards for leathers at the Department of Rock grand final at Smith’s Alternative.
We are well-known for our bureaucracy, red tape and a good acronym but when you set it to music and turn the amp up, it’s depart-mental as anything.
Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke (who plays rhythm guitar in his own band “Left Right Out”) attended Department of Rock last year and he’s invited again, along with his good mate “DJ Albo”.
In keeping with the public service theme, one of the judges is departmental secretary (the acronym is too long to publish) Jim Betts, who’s well-known for his rock & roll lifestyle around the water cooler.
According to Department of Rock’s madam secretary (not her real title), Leanne Thompson, Jim is “a little bit famous because we wears rock shirts in the office”.
“He encourages his staff to dress down a bit more and get a bit more funky,” Leanne said. “He got a bit of heat in Senate Estimates for wearing a Taylor Swift shirt at a conference.” (A stark contrast to yesterday when ACT Legislative Assembly speaker, Mark Parton, was “disappointed” when a new MLA didn’t wear a tie.)
The hilarity of public service life is manifested in the finalists’ band names – FOI Fighters, which stands for “Freedom of Information” (eat your heart out Dave Grohl) and the DUDS (Department Under Disillusioned). Also on the bill are The Shadies (aka rock stars of DCCEEW) and Capybara Spa (rock legends from DFAT, DPS and DCCEEW).
There are many rockers disguised as grey-suited office workers around Canberra and the Department of Rock is helping them to unleash their inner rock god. Twenty-four bands entered the heats back in October and four made it through to this Sunday’s grand final.
“[Department of Rock] is a strangely and quietly subversive act,” said Leanne, who’s a former EL2 but now fronts feminist punk band, Matriarch. “I feel like we’re bringing rock and roll and fun and live music into the public service and getting more public servants involved in the amazing local music scene.
“Faceless suits that are walking around town are actually, who knew it, real, whole, creative, fun people. It does really uplift the spirits on that old trope of throwing the public service into a very new, different, exciting light.”
So it’s official, Canberra’s shiny bums rock. Even Mr Burke keeps an electric guitar and amp sitting in the corner of his office. Leanne hopes he’ll wander down from the hill this Sunday.
“I’ve been in touch with his office, so I am expecting to see him on Sunday night,“ Leanne said. “[Anthony Albanese] hasn’t been directly invited … I think word’s kind of got out.”
Departmental secretary Jim Betts has already purchased five Department of Rock t-shirts and recently handed them out at a secretary board meeting – all the while wearing his own rockin’ t-shirt and dark sunglasses.
“It’s going to be a wild show,” Leanne said. “A number of the bands bring some musical satire of what it is like to work in the public service to their shows, singing about how ChatGPT writes ministerials better than public servants, what it’s like working on the help desk, and humour about workplace culture in the public service because it’s pretty weird and wacky at times.”
Department of Rock 2024 grand final is at Smith’s Alternative on Sunday 8 December, 6pm.
Feeling social? Follow Canberra Daily: Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | Tik Tok | YouTube
Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
