Australia has become a second home for the man who wears his heart forever on his cotton sleeve.

“I spend a lot of time out here, and Cobargo was my first folk festival in Australia,” Cook said over the phone as he was being bum-rushed out of a hotel in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba.

“It all started when I met an Australian drinking on the street in Saigon and she invited me to play in her house.

“Later I had a gig fall through in Brisbane and someone talked me into the Cobargo Folk Festival.”

Cook has been touring his punk rock attitude fuelled folk with his group the Second Chances, and admits despite soaking up constant inspiration, has not had time to write a song since July last year.

Just days ago, a keynote talk at the Kansas City Folk Festival by English singer, songwriter and political activist Billy Bragg resonated with the thoughtful and politically active Cook.

“Billy Bragg gave a great talk about why we do what we do, the solidarity and what it means,” Cook said.

“He said our biggest danger wasn’t terrorism or anything like that, but our own cynicism.

“The fields of the battle may change but people are still working on the same things as he was when he first started protesting.

“He started in the anti-fascist movement which is still relevant today.”

Despite the global popularity of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Cook is no fan.

“He doesn’t honour promises, and they’ve been in power before so I don’t think we’ll see anything new,” he said.

“At least he’s reaffirmed our intake of refugees, which is nothing to boast about because it’s just following international law.”

He’s been touring in support of his sixth full-length release Further Down the Line that includes an impressive 132-page book laden with words and pictures from a decade of traversing the globe.

This year will be his fourth visit to what he describes as a “real special” festival and bringing a band along with him this time round he says keeps him out of trouble while on the road.

“It’s more fun with other people, and they keep me in line,” Cook said with a laugh.

He’s enjoying being a tour guide this time round, with banjo, mandolin and guitar player Bramwell Park and upright bassist Melissa Walker in tow.

“This is an easy country to be in and you can buy a van really easily, but it is an expensive place to live,” Cook said.