Up north, Aboriginals are losing their land. Down south, workers are losing their jobs. Who gains and who loses when Australian uranium and other minerals are developed by multi-national mining companies for nuclear industry? Australia has some of the world's largest reserves of uranium, but the push to develop them has been fiercely opposed by many Australians.
Through a rich and detailed portrait of the daily lives of people in the remote north and the urban south, Dirt Cheap provides an intricate account of conflicting views and interests, as well as an extraordinary study of Australian society. Directed by David Hay, it was financed by a group of 40 Australian trade unions and the New South Wales Film Corp. The opening of Dirt Cheap in Australia has provoked a storm of controversy that has led to attempts to ban the film.