'Singing budgie' Kylie Minogue targets her critics

Kylie Minogue has taken a swipe at critics from her early singing days as she was inducted into the Aria Hall of Fame.

Minogue was famously dubbed a "singing budgie" when she launched a music career on the back of her popularity in Neighbours almost 25 years ago.

She held back tears as she accepted the Aria from Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and later joked that only now was she fully recognised by the Australian music industry.

"To finally be here and be acknowledged is very nice," Minogue told reporters backstage at the awards.

"Let's just say it's very nice when you do have it and it's not very nice when you don't.

"It's not something I've strived specifically to get but I think it just comes with time and I understand that when I started I had to earn my stripes.

"But I think I've got them now."

Minogue, 43, has sold more than 68 million records, released 11 albums, holds an OBE and enduring popularity in the UK.

With 16 Aria Awards under her belt, Minogue is one of Australia's most bankable international acts.

Her $25 million Aphrodite Les Foiles tour this year included 76 shows in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

She was joined in this Hall of Fame this year by childrens' entertainers The Wiggles, who have sold 30 million albums and DVDs across the world.

Actor David Wenham presented The Wiggles with their Hall of Fame award, saying not only are they gifted songwriters, educators and performers, "they've also managed to achieve the impossible: perform onstage in brightly coloured skivvies with no embarrassment".

Red Wiggle, Murray Cook, said they looked up past inductees and the company they are now in is "so humbling".

"We really were just a bunch of four preschool teachers going out and playing music for kids and it just grew and grew," he said.

"We've been playing for 20 years and this has been a great 20th year anniversary for us to get something like this."

He thanked their parents and families and also gave a shout out to former Yellow Wiggle Greg Page, who had to leave the group five years ago due to medical reasons.

"It's great to have Greg up here. Greg's a great friend and collaborator, we couldn't have done it without him," he said.

"He's always in our hearts and he's always on stage even when he's not there."

Wenham said Jebediah, Spiderbait, Architecture in Helsinki and The Snowdroppers were all rushing to cover The Wiggles songs and Cook said he thought it was great that there might now be young bands who grew up listening to them.

"That's great, that's one of the things that I always hoped would happen is inspire people to play music," he said backstage.

Past Hall of Fame inductees include AC/DC, INXS, Slim Dusty, Cold Chisel and The Bee Gees, as well as last year's entrants The Church, Models and The Loved Ones.

- AAP