Indigenous Australians & Mining: Developing a Sustainable Future?

26 August 2009

Host: Dr Richard Denniss

Indigenous Australians residing in communities in regional and remote Australia are among Australia's most disadvantaged partly because of limited formal economic opportunity. In these areas mining may be the major - and sometimes only - contributor to mainstream economic development. However Indigenous communities have gained only limited long-term economic benefits from mining activity on land that they own. Furthermore, while many Indigenous people place high value on realising non-economic benefits from mining agreements, there may be only limited capacity to deliver such benefits.

In this forum four contributors to the monograph Power, Culture, Economy: Indigenous Australians and Mining discussed case studies from large, ongoing mining operations in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory to draw out issues relating to the complex and often problematic relations between major mining corporations and Indigenous people. These include the challenges that Indigenous people face in engaging in multifaceted ways with mine economies, including to their cultural identity and values and the role of the state.

Broad Topics: Arts and Social Sciences

Sub-topics: Indigenous Studies

Areas: ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences

Jon Altman is the Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, and ARC Australian Professorial Fellow. His research focuses on national economic and policy issues and a specific regional focus on western Arnhem Land where he has worked with communities for 30 years.

David Martin is a Visiting Fellow at CAEPR and Director of Anthropos Consulting. His research interests include issues of diversity and social sustainability, as well as Indigenous organisation capacity, governance and design.

Sarah Holcombe is a Research Fellow at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies. Her research includes the engagement of Aboriginal organisations, Aboriginal governance, regionalisation and local autonomy.

Ben Scambary is Chief Executive Officer at the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority in the Northern Territory. In 2007 he completed a PhD at ANU on Indigenous People, Mining and Development Contestation in Remote Australia.

This publication results from research conducted under an Australian Research Council Linkage Project, with Rio Tinto and the Committee for Economic Development of Australia as Industry Partners. A number of Indigenous representatives and community organisations collaborated on the project.

Presented by the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research. 

Part of the Toyota-ANU Public Lecture Series 2009