My country, mine country: Indigenous people, mining and development contestation in remote Australia

Agreements between the mining industry and Indigenous people are not creating sustainable economic futures for Indigenous people, and this demands consideration of alternate forms of economic engagement in order to realise such ‘futures’. Within the context of three mining agreements in north Australia this study considers Indigenous livelihood aspirations and their intersection with sustainable development agendas. The three agreements are the Yandi Land Use Agreement in the Central Pilbara in Western Australia, the Ranger Uranium Mine Agreement in the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory, and the Gulf Communities Agreement in relation to the Century zinc mine in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland. Recent shifts in Indigenous policy in Australia seek to de-emphasise the cultural behaviour or imperatives of Indigenous people in undertaking economic action, in favour of a mainstream conventional approach to economic development. Concepts of ‘value’, ‘identity’, and ‘community’ are key elements in the tension between culture and economics that exists in the Indigenous policy environment. Whilst significant diversity exists within the Indigenous polity, Indigenous aspirations for the future typically emphasise a desire for alternate forms of economic engagement that combine elements of the mainstream economy with the maintenance and enhancement of Indigenous institutions and ‘livelihood’ activities. Such aspirations reflect ongoing and dynamic responses to modernity, and typically concern the interrelated issues of access to and management of ‘country’, the maintenance of Indigenous institutions associated with family and kin, access to resources such as cash and vehicles, the establishment of robust representative organisations, and are integrally linked to the derivation of both symbolic and economic value of livelihood pursuits

Indigenous people and the Pilbara mining boom

Economic conditions; Aboriginal australians; Western australi

Indigenous people and the Pilbara mining boom

Economic conditions; Aboriginal australians; Western australi

Attitudes to national identity among tertiary students in Melanesia and Timor Leste: a comparative analysis

"This paper presents the findings of an 18-month research project on the attitudes of tertiary students in Melanesia and Timor-Leste to national identity and key issues of nation-building. The research was conducted at tertiary campuses across four sites: Dili, Port Vila, Honiara and Port Moresby. The study examined the attitudes of the young educated elite likely to dominate the next generation of leaders and decision makers. Their views are pivotal to understanding the challenges to building a more cohesive sense of national identity and political community in Melanesia and Timor-Leste. Findings highlight the ongoing importance of family, religion and maintaining traditional customs in student conceptions of political community. Depending on the case study, they also illustrate the importance of geographical region of origin, language orientation, and gender in explaining differences in key attitudes towards national identity. This article presents a comparative analysis of those findings across the four target sites ..." - page 1AusAI

National identity in fragile states: insights from tertiary students in Melanesia and Timor-Leste

The challenges of nation building in Melanesia and Timor-Leste have often been neglected in the regional focus on state-building challenges. High levels of ethno-linguistic diversity, combined with an array of regional, historical and cultural divisions, continue to present obstacles to the creation of a cohesive sense of national political community leading these nations to be labelled ‘fragile’. This paper presents the findings of a comparative study on the attitudes of tertiary students in Melanesia and Timor-Leste to national identity and nation building. A strong pan-Melanesian pattern of group identification was identified, common to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The ongoing importance of traditional authority and custom in informing conceptions of political community and identity was evident in all four case study sites, but was in each case matched by indicators of respect for modern state authority. The survey also reveals some significant gender differences in key attitudes towards national identity, including the role of traditional authorities. Most importantly, the study reveals high degrees of national pride, and faith in democratic principles and citizenship; but conversely, low levels of pride in contemporary democratic performance and inter-group tolerance

Papua New Guinea: a nation of twenty nations? Tertiary student attitudes to national identity

Abstract not available

The road to nowhere: the rise of a neo-patrimonialist state in East Timor

Over the last 9 years preceding 2016, the small half-island state of East Timor has embarked on a massive public spending program, with an emphasis on infrastructure. Over the same period, clientelist and neo-patrimonialist modes of distribution and governance have become increasingly entrenched. Drawing on his personal authority and status as a former guerilla commander, Kay Rala ‘Xanana’ Gusmão has centralized power and decision-making under his executive, bypassing ministerial and parliamentary structures in favor of a parallel set of informal personal networks. As a consequence, development outcomes have been poor at best, while a raft of highly ambitious white elephant projects, in the face of declining government revenues, threatens to bankrupt the state. This chapter analyzes the political economy of public expenditure in East Timor, and the implications and prospects for future development and the rule of law

My Country, Mine Country: Indigenous people, mining and development contestation in remote Australia (CAEPR Monograph 33)

Agreements between the mining industry and Indigenous people are not creating sustainable economic futures for Indigenous people, and this demands consideration of alternate forms of economic engagement in order to realise such ‘futures’. Within the context of three mining agreements in north Australia this study considers Indigenous livelihood aspirations and their intersection with sustainable development agendas. The three agreements are the Yandi Land Use Agreement in the Central Pilbara in Western Australia, the Ranger Uranium Mine Agreement in the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory, and the Gulf Communities Agreement in relation to the Century zinc mine in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland. Recent shifts in Indigenous policy in Australia seek to de-emphasise the cultural behaviour or imperatives of Indigenous people in undertaking economic action, in favour of a mainstream conventional approach to economic development. Concepts of ‘value’, ‘identity’, and ‘community’ are key elements in the tension between culture and economics that exists in the Indigenous policy environment. Whilst significant diversity exists within the Indigenous polity, Indigenous aspirations for the future typically emphasise a desire for alternate forms of economic engagement that combine elements of the mainstream economy with the maintenance and enhancement of Indigenous institutions and ‘livelihood’ activities. Such aspirations reflect ongoing and dynamic responses to modernity, and typically concern the interrelated issues of access to and management of ‘country’, the maintenance of Indigenous institutions associated with family and kin, access to resources such as cash and vehicles, the establishment of robust representative organisations, and are integrally linked to the derivation of both symbolic and economic value of livelihood pursuits