Seven Mile Beach by Tom Gilling

Reporter Nick Carmody should have broken off his friendship with Danny Grogan a long time ago. They met at St Dominic's, a posh school in Sydney, and have stayed friends since, despite Danny's partying ways and run-ins with the law (that his billionaire father, Harry Grogan, has gotten him out of). When Danny is caught speeding by a traffic camera, Harry persuades Nick to say he was driving instead. Nick thinks he'll lie in court and that will be the end of it. Instead, it's just the beginning, as Nick realizes that he's been duped by the Grogans into being a fall guy. Soon he's on the run, wondering what he's got himself into and realizing he probably can never go home again... A page turner in a setting that we don't often see--Australia.