Dayne Pratzky
Dayne Pratzky is an Australian
A former tunnel-digger and resident of
Pratzky believes that the unconventional gas industry puts clean air and water resources in Australia at risk, and argues that exporting gas puts upwards pressure on domestic gas prices. He also believes that employment opportunities have been overstated by the industry and by Government and that payments made to landholders have not been equitable, given that affected properties have in some cases been rendered unsaleable.[2]
Activism
Pratzky bought a 100 hectare block of land in the Wieambilla estates near Tara in what farmers call "goanna country" in 2004.[3] In 2005 he was employed on Lane Cove Tunnel project in New South Wales where he sustained a back injury. He began receiving worker's compensation payments, and has been limited in his employment prospects since, despite having a strong will to work.[4] What has been described as Queensland's most disadvantaged community became his home. There, Pratzky observed the community becoming divided and disenchanted as gas wells were established by QGC, a company later acquired by British Gas. He was presented with a land access agreement by QGC in 2009[3] and subsequently tore it up. He learned of health complaints suffered by children including nose-bleeds and headaches which locals believed were caused by the industry's impacts on air and groundwater quality.
In April 2009, Pratzky organised a four-day blockade of trucks and committed himself to anti-coal seam gas activism. He was trained in non-violent protest techniques by
In 2010 and 2011, Pratzky toured the anti-fracking documentary film Gasland by American filmmaker Josh Fox. He screened the film across the eastern states of Australia, covering a distance of 170,000 kilometres and reaching audiences ranging in size from 16 people to 128.[4] Pratzky was interviewed by Fox when he visited Tara and later appeared in the sequel — Gasland Part II.[6] Pratzky has also visited the United States with politician Jeremy Buckingham to see the industry's impact there.
In 2012, Pratzky brought national media attention to the occurrence of gas bubbles leaking from the bed of the Condamine River.[7]
In 2015, Dayne moved to
Pratzky has suffered multiple break-ins to his property, vandalism to his car and the poisoning of his dogs — occurrences he has attributed to his opposition to the coal seam gas industry.[9]
In June 2016, Pratzky indicated that he would run in the 2017
Early life
Pratzky was born in New South Wales and describes himself as having been "a total ratbag in school." As a teenager, he worked at
See also
References
- ^ "'Frackman', the movie". Lateline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 March 2015.
- ^ a b Brunero, Tim (21 February 2015). "Speaking with the frackman". ABC Local - Overnights. ABC. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ a b Horton, Kirsty (24 March 2015). "'Frackman' calls Forster home". Great Lakes Advocate. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d Hooton, Amanda (21 March 2015). "Frack off: Dayne Pratzky's fight against coal seam gas". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ^ Shand, Adam (13 July 2013). "Motley group of activists owe much to the "frack man"". The Australian. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ Phillips, Ari (3 August 2013). "The ragtag group of Aussie activists fighting gas industry". RenewEconomy. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ Hagemann, Ben (8 January 2015). "'Frackman' CSG documentary set to raise eyebrows". Australian Mining. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ "Frackman: Dayne Pratzky takes on coal seam gas". The Feed. SBS. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
- ^ "The big stage for a local advocate". Great Lakes Advocate. Fairfax Media. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.