Dirty Fracking Business

The water and the air in the Fisher Valley were pristine before the coal seam gas companies arrived with government-endorsed gas exploration and development licences. Then they marched roughshod over the owners of privately owned, highly productive farming and grazing land, paying them little in the way of compensation. After drilling, they pumped water, sand and toxic chemicals at high pressure hundreds of metres into the ground in a process known as 'fracking', which exploded the coal seams and released the methane, while giving scant attention to the ground, air and water pollution they were creating.

When little Charlie Paxton, aged only six, dies from a mysterious form of cancer, his father, Charles Paxton, swears to have his revenge. Charles is determined to stop the gas companies even if it means blowing up their wells and blocking their access to agricultural properties. But big gas is powerful and backed by rapacious governments who won't hesitate to use their police and army to smash through blockades. Can a small group of farmers, greens and conservatives stand against the might of big gas and the governments complicit in helping it?

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"I moved to the country for peace and quiet and little did I know that I would become embroiled in the battle of my life. Peter Ralph brings to light the everyday struggle of people who find their lives suddenly caught up with one of the most insidious industries in the world - Coal Seam Gas."
- Dayne Pratzky, a.k.a. 'The Frackman'

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The author, Peter Ralph, was a CEO of a large private company that he took public in the early nineties before becoming a successful share and derivatives trader. He now spends much of his time writing, and the breadth of his business career has provided him with a background and insights well suited to writing suspenseful business and topical novels. He is the author of "Collins Street Whores" and "The CEO", and co-authored "Pass the Sugar" with Joe Hachem.