Tom Doig's book is a highly-readable account of profiteering and denial at the expense of the health of tens of thousands of people, told by those affected, writes Alan Broughton.
Hazelwood coalmine fire
The Coal Face
By Tom Doig
Penguin, 2015
$9.99, 144 pages
Released earlier this year, Tom Doig's The Coal Face describes the day last year that fire took hold in Victoria's Hazelwood coal mine and burned for one-and-a-half months.
Scandal has erupted in Victoria as GDF Suez, the majority owner of the Hazelwood coal-fired power station, refuses to pay an $18 million bill to the Country Fire Authority. The bill is for the firefighting effort at last year's coalmine fire that blanketed local towns with soot and smoke for 45 days.
Voices of the Valley released this statement on February 6.
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Latrobe Valley residents’ group Voices of the Valley has released new data and analysis regarding probable deaths resulting from the coalmine fire which began one year ago in the Victorian town of Hazelwood.