Mack & Cook return with A Sign Of The Times, a deeply personal and political statement from Murray Cook and partner Mack addressing Australia’s unfinished business with its First Nations people.
by Paul Cashmere
More than three decades after helping launch children’s music phenomenon The Wiggles, Murray Cook has stepped back into a very different national conversation.
With Mack & Cook’s new single A Sign Of The Times, Cook moves into explicitly political territory, revisiting themes that surfaced publicly during his involvement in the YES campaign and sharpening the focus on the absence of a treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
For Cook, whose tenure in The Wiggles spanned over 30 years, overt political commentary was rarely part of the public brief. A Sign Of The Times marks a conscious decision not to withdraw from the debate following the disappointment of the failed referendum, but to re-engage with the unresolved questions that continue to sit at the centre of Australian life.
“This song is deeply personal and deeply political for both of us,” Mack & Cook said in a joint statement. “We stand united in needing, wanting and, to be honest, are very over waiting for justice for our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, if not now, then when?”
The song opens with imagery embedded in the national psyche. Among the references is the moment in 1975 when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam poured red desert sand into the hands of Gurindji leader Vincent Lingiari, symbolising the handback of land at Wave Hill. That image remains one of the most powerful gestures towards reconciliation in modern Australian history and serves as a touchstone for the song’s central question, why has the journey stalled?
Musically, A Sign Of The Times is framed through an Australiana-meets-Americana palette. Country storytelling traditions intersect with subtle blues textures, steady tempos and classic guitar hooks. Layered male and female harmonies soften the edges of the lyric, allowing the message to unfold without bombast. The arrangement is unhurried, measured and deliberate, mirroring the patience that has long been asked of First Nations communities.
Beneath the warmth of the production lies a current of sadness and fatigue. The song acknowledges the unanswered grief carried by Aboriginal people, particularly members of the Stolen Generations, and the broader sense of deferred hope stretching from the promise of the 1992 Mabo v Queensland (No 2) decision through decades of stalled reform. The most recent setback, the unsuccessful YES campaign, lingers in the background as part of a longer continuum rather than a singular event.
Rather than positioning itself as a manifesto, A Sign Of The Times asks listeners to consider what it means to “do our bit”. The lyric suggests that sustained, visible pressure from individuals can help maintain momentum for structural change. It is framed as a contribution to an ongoing national conversation, one that refuses to be silenced by referendum results or political cycles.
The release arrives amid renewed cultural scrutiny of Australia’s historical record. Public discourse across film, television and the arts has intensified, with programs such as Always Was, Always Will Be reflecting a broader willingness to confront difficult truths about colonisation, dispossession and sovereignty. International observers have long questioned Australia’s lack of a formal treaty process, and Mack & Cook’s single places itself squarely within that dialogue.
For Cook, the transition from children’s entertainer to politically engaged songwriter underscores the evolution of an artist willing to risk comfort for conviction. A Sign Of The Times does not attempt to provide closure. Instead, it settles on a single, enduring question that echoes through its chorus and its historical references, why?
Mack & Cook’s single A Sign Of The Times is released to radio and all digital streaming services on Friday 20 February, serviced via PlayMPE and Little Sparrow PR.
Mack & Cook A Sign Of The Times Single Launch Tour
Saturday 21 February, Blackheath, Side B Vinyl Bar
Saturday 21 February, Blackheath, Side B Vinyl Bar
Thursday 26 February, Scarborough, The Indie Bar
Friday 27 February, Nannup, Nannup Music Festival The Secret Garden
Saturday 28 February, Nannup, Nannup Music Festival Town Hall
Sunday 1 March, Nannup, Nannup Brewery
Sunday 8 March, Port Kembla, Servo Food Truck Bar + Mem Davis
Friday 27 March, Canberra, Smiths Alternative
Sunday 29 March, Newcastle, Full Throttle Ranch
Sunday 12 April, Enmore, Palomino Bar
Saturday 18 April, Sawtell, Morty’s Joint
Sunday 10 May, Brunswick NSW, The Retreat Hotel
Saturday 30 May, Brisbane, Sonic Sherpa
Sunday 31 May, New Farm Brisbane QLD, The Junk Bar
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