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Book Review: Slick: Australia’s Toxic Relationship with Big Oil

10 Dec 2024
Reviewed by Professor Daniel Nyberg

Slick by Royce Kurmelovs is a compelling exploration of how the fossil fuel industry has managed to maintain its dominance in Australia over several decades. This enduring influence persists despite clear evidence that burning fossil fuels is driving the rise in greenhouse gas emissions and fuelling climate change.

Kurmelovs reveals how Australia’s major political parties have been deeply influenced by the fossil fuel sector. However, he also sheds light on a deeper issue: the way fossil fuel exploration and extraction are treated as an unquestionable necessity, even in a nation increasingly devastated by catastrophic floods and bushfires. The book demonstrates how a technological advanced society such as Australia chooses to destroy itself.

Addressing climate change comes down to a straightforward principle: fossil fuels must remain in the ground. Chapter by chapter, Slick builds a compelling case for how the fossil fuel industry has systematically countered challenges and criticisms to ensure that any meaningful transition away from fossil fuels is dismissed as naïve or even dangerous. Kurmelovs explains how the interests of the fossil fuel sector have been internalised by public servants, making alternative approaches seem unthinkable. This goes beyond regulatory capture—where politicians and policy makers are co-opted to serve the interests of the fossil fuel industry—to societal capture. Fossil fuel companies have embedded themselves in the fabric of Australian society: shaping school and university curriculums, supporting local communities through sports clubs, sponsoring the arts, and even delivering public services. As the renowned Australian author Tim Winton puts it, the fossil fuel industry has “colonised every level of our society.”

Divided into four main sections—early period, middle period, high period, and late period— Slick provides a detailed account of the development of Australia’s oil and gas industry and the evolution of climate politics from the 1960s onwards. The book’s strongest chapters draw on Kurmelovs’ background in journalism, where his investigative skills shine. His ability to bring stories to life is evident when he interviews key players and recounts events on the ground.

The narrative arc becomes especially compelling when readers follow central figures and their struggles. From the devastating floods in Lismore (Chapter one) to flood victims—guided by seasoned activists—dragging the remnants of their ruined homes to the prime minister’s residence at Kirribilli House (Chapter two), the story builds momentum. These same protagonists later block traffic on the Sydney Harbour Bridge (Chapter 14) and disrupt the APPEA (The Australian Energy Producers, formerly the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association) conference in Adelaide (Chapter 15). Though widely condemned in the media, these individuals refuse to accept the status quo. They see through the dominant narratives and take a stand against the oil and gas industries, offering a powerful counterpoint to the fossil fuel sector’s grip on Australian society.

Much of this story has been told before. Former Liberal staffer Guy Pearse, in High and Dry, exposed how Australian politics have been captured by coal, while Clive Hamilton, in Scorcher, unpacked the fraught politics of climate change in Australia. These earlier works revealed how Australia’s biggest polluters and their lobbyists—dubbed the “greenhouse mafia”—have effectively dictated the country’s climate policy. In the same vein, Slick offers a clear-eyed analysis of the fossil fuel industry’s central role in Australia’s failure to tackle climate change. Despite decades of discussion and policy promises, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.What sets Slick apart is its phenomenal journalism, which weaves Australian stories into the broader narrative of climate politics with remarkable skill. For example, Chapter one uses the personal horrors of the Lismore floods to illustrate the devastating impacts of climate change. In Chapter two, the book follows the journey of a climate activist, shedding light on how the politics of climate change operates in Australia. Chapter six turns its focus to the courageous Yungngora people, who staged a blockade against drilling on their land. Another standout is Chapter eight, which examines how the oil and gas industry has infiltrated schools and universities. It tells a fascinating and detailed story, drawing on materials like school booklets and interviews with those close to the events.

The fossil fuel industry emerges as a “slick” operator, producing educational materials that appear impartial but are clearly designed to support its agenda.Throughout the book, historical figures and moments serve as decision points, highlighting both the missed opportunities (such as the failure to establish a national oil company) and the deliberate strategies employed by oil and gas companies to deny and delay climate action. These characters and their actions take centre stage, vividly showing how serious climate action has been obstructed over time. Unsurprisingly, the book details how the fossil fuel industry spreads misinformation, shifts blame, lobbies politicians, embeds itself in the legislative process, and more. For the industry, this fight is existential: no more fossil fuels mean no more fossil fuel companies. The combination of entertaining and skilful writing with investigative depth makes Slick both highly readable and impressive in its scope.

This is a review of Royce Kurmelov’s Slick: Australia’s toxic relationship with Big Oil (University of Queensland Press, 2024). ISBN: 9780702268601.

Daniel Nyberg is a Professor in Sustainability and UN PRME director at the School of Business, University of Queensland.

This review is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.