'Rudd was a megalomaniac', Garrett's tell-all interview

Peter Garrett claims Kevin Rudd was a power hungry 'megalomaniac' in an exclusive interview about his tell-all book.

In an exclusive interview with Melissa Doyle before its release, Garrett explains the explosive claims he has made about leadership in the Labor Party.

"He was [a megalomaniac]. I am not the only one to think it either."

"Rudd wasn't someone who was easy to work with in that way and his vanity and his exercise of power as prime minister and then subsequently was contrary to me, ultimately to what good leadership is."

At 62 years of age, he has had three distinct and equally powerful careers, but despite in the public eye for 40 years he actually hasn’t shared a lot about himself.

It is his first time being completely open about the political party since he joined December 2007.

"His treatment of Gillard was unbelievably poor"

"So I am critical of him that's true, I am very critical but for good reason."

It has been two years since he quit politics, and he reveals his biggest 'low light' of his time in office was the Government's Home Insulation Program which caused the death of four people.

"The fact that we had the death of four young kids in the insulation scheme that the Government established to deal with the Global Financial Crisis, and that was a low light in a lot of different ways,

"The obvious one was feeling the sorrow and the sort of the hardness of parents losing someone in a government scheme which I had responsibility for."

Ending Midnight Oil after 23 years and entering politics broke a lot of hearts among music-fans. The band's activism and voice had generated a huge following.

In the tell-all interview to air Sunday October 11, Peter also speaks about the time he first met his bandmates.

"The audition, so to speak, was hilarious because I was already in a band. I was a bit older than them, I thought I was a little bit cool and I arrived and they looked quite young even though they had just left school...

"They picked up their instruments and started to play and I am just like, 'Oh man what is happening here!'.

"I still have that sound in my head."

The full Peter Garrett interview airs tonight on Sunday Night at 7pm on Seven.