Coal is the political, economic and cultural totem for debates about climate change. Yet Australian politicians have had a love affair with coal, which has helped lock our politics - and our country - into the fossil fuel age. This searing book takes apart the pivotal role of the Adani Carmichael mine in the conflict over coal. We see the rise of a fossil fuel power network linking mining companies, mining oligarchs, the big four banks, right-wing think tanks, lobby groups, the conservative media and all sides of Australian politics. On the other side, we have one of the biggest social movements ever seen in Australia in the form of #StopAdani uniting to try to save the Great Barrier Reef, native title rights and to fight the corrupt politics of coal. Looking into the social, environmental and economic elements of this big fight, as well as the background of Gautam Adani himself, this book tells the full story of one of the lightning rod issues of our time. Sales Points: The inside story of Australia's largest and the world's second largest proposed coal mine Reveals the insidious power and influence of the fossil fuel lobby at all levels of government. The loser is democracy. Comprehensive - covers all aspects of the political, economic and social sides of Adani Shows impact of the proposed mine and resistance to it on corporations - the big 4 banks for example The Adani campaign has had an impact on voting patterns - the recent Batman by-election in Melbourne is a good example The proposed mine is in Queensland but the story is truly national Author has interviewed key players including Bob Brown, Geoff Cousins, Adrian Burragubba to write an often gripping narrative Includes background on Gautam Adani himself, and the sorry environmental record of his company in India Combines analysis and research within a compelling - and shocking - story Up to date - author can't see a path by which the mine could proceed, but warns we should not be complacent To be endorsed by legendary environmental campaigners Bob Brown and Bill McKibben Quentin Beresford's previous book The Rise and Fall of Gunns Ltd won the Tasmanian Premier's 2015 Literary Prize and was longlisted for the Walkley Book Award. He proved himself as a superb media performer and will do the same here.

The Murray-Darling Basin - Australia's food bowl - is in crisis. For more than a century, a series of environmental catastrophes have brought the ecosystem to its knees: soil erosion, sand drifts and dust storms, salinity, algal blooms, the threat to native flora and fauna and the drying out of internationally recognised wetlands, along with steadily worsening droughts. Award-winning author Quentin Beresford delves into the history of the river system since European settlement and reveals Australia's destructive relationship with the environment, and the willingness of politicians to ignore expert advice. The dispossession and marginalisation of local Indigenous people denied European settlers the cultural knowledge to manage the Basin sustainably. Instead, we've had waves of nation-building irrigation schemes and agricultural enterprises, all promoted by politicians more concerned with short-term profits than long-term sustainability. We are now at a point of reckoning. Only an end to the centuries-old development-at-all-costs approach, along with a recognition of Indigenous water rights, an acceptance of science and the adoption of sustainable farming practices can save the once mighty Murray-Darling.

One of the great Aboriginal leaders of the modern era, Rob Riley, was at the center of many debates that have polarized views on race relations in Australia: national land rights, the treaty, deaths in custody, self-determination, the justice system, native title, and the Stolen Generations. Tragically, he took his own life in 1996, shocking community leaders and citizens alike. Drawing on perspectives from history, politics, and psychology, and set against the tumultuous background of racial politics, this book explores Rob's rise and influence as an activist. Rob Riley's belief that he had failed in this quest raises profound questions about the legacy of past racial policies, the extent of institutionalized racism in Australia, and the reluctance of Australia's politicians to show leadership on race. So much of Rob Riley's life was a triumph of the human spirit against great adversity, and this legacy remains.

The story of Tasmania's most controversial forestry giant, the corruption that gave it power and the forces that brought it down. At its peak, Gunns Ltd had a market value of $1 billion, was listed on the ASX 200, was the largest employer in the state of Tasmania and was its largest private landowner. Most of its profits came from woodchipping, mainly from clear-felled old-growth forests. A pulp mill in Tasmania's Tamar Valley was central to its expansion plans. Gunns' collapse in 2012 was a major national news story, as was the arrest of its CEO for insider trading. Quentin Beresford illuminates for the first time the dark corners of the Gunns empire and how it was embedded in an anti-democratic and corrupt system of power supported by both main parties, business and unions. Simmering opposition to Gunns and all it stood for ramped up into an environmental campaign not seen since the Franklin Dam protests. Fearless and forensic in its analysis, the book shows that Tasmania's decades-long quest to industrialise nature fails every time.