Review of Juice by Tim Winton (Hamish Hamilton, 2024)
Since British colonization, extractive capitalism has made Western Australia’s (WA) mining bosses filthy rich. And today, WA remains a disproportionate contributor to the climate crisis, due to a massive gas export industry and carbon-intensive iron ore mining.
Thanks to WA’s predominantly hot and dry climate, the state is especially vulnerable to intensifying extreme weather. Recent years have seen destructive floods, extreme heat waves, and droughts, leading to the collapse of forests and the endangerment of native species. Just this year, Perth, the state’s capital, experienced the hottest summer on record, decimating food sources for black cockatoos, further endangering the already threatened species.
Despite these portents, WA is the only state in Australia where emissions continue to rise, largely due to the grip of extractive industries over the Western Australian government. Gas companies make political donations while successfully lobbying for policy changes. Concerted campaigns by WA’s mining industry have led governments to abandon laws designed to protect the environment and Aboriginal heritage sites. A revolving door exists between the state government and industry. Last year, for example, WA premier Mark McGowan stood down from the role, citing exhaustion. Since then, he’s taken on five corporate jobs, including with gas and iron ore miners.
Western Australia is on the front line of the climate crisis, making it a fitting setting for Juice, an important new work of climate fiction by West Australian novelist Tim Winton. Released in October this year, Juice unflinchingly imagines our future climate trajectory. And its…
Auteur: Gerard Mazza
