Indigenous people and the Pilbara mining boom : A baseline for regional participation

Power, Culture, Economy (CAEPR 30) : Indigenous Australians and Mining

“…This has some resonance with O'Faircheallaigh's (2002b) 'alternate' approach to evaluation which includes examination of the unfolding responses of Aboriginal actors to development initiatives. So far, however, only limited attempt has been made to incorporate such data into regional profiling (Taylor and Scambary 2005), although Scambary (this volume) has explored Indigenous development aspirations in considerable ethnographic detail and found these to be often at odds with more mainstream understandings of optimal outcomes from the interaction between miners and Indigenous people. Likewise, in a survey of traditional Aboriginal owners conducted in 2006 to establish what they wanted to do with their land, less than 13 per cent listed economic development as a first priority while more than one-third highlighted access, residence, land and sea management and cultural heritage (Balsamo and Calma 2007).…”

“…Clearly some Indigenous people see mines as providing opportunity for formal employment while others see agreements as a means to pursue life projects (Blaser 2004;Peterson 2005;Trigger 2005). Some Indigenous people interviewed by Taylor and Scambary (2005) articulated a clear aspiration to use agreement benefits to live on their land and engage in the customary sector rather than in mine site employment. From the Indigenous perspective, there was little indication that mining agreements were investing in sustainable futures.…”

“…In the early 1970s, there was considerable optimism that mining agreements, many with significant financial benefit packages, would make a difference to the marginal economic situation of Indigenous beneficiaries (Altman 1983). However, research to date indicates that for a complex set of reasons, Indigenous economic status has changed little in subsequent years-dependence on government transfer payments across remote Australia remains high, while the economic profile of Indigenous people residing in the vicinity of major long-life mines is often indistinguishable from that of Indigenous people elsewhere in remote Australia (Taylor 1999Taylor and Scambary 2005).…”

“…Partly in response to such issues, and in the emerging context of corporate social responsibility, there has been a concerted effort in recent years by some major mining companies to address aspects of this regional information void with support for regional profiling in the East Kimberley (Taylor 2004a), the Pilbara (Taylor and Scambary 2005) and the West Kimberley (Taylor 2006b). Wider recognition of this requirement by Indigenous stakeholders is also indicated by land council and native title representative body support for such activity in the case of the Kakadu Social Impact Study (1997b), as well as in the regional studies listed above.…”

“…A recent comprehensive study by Taylor and Scambary (2005) analysed regional statistical social indicators, while also seeking detailed Indigenous views about development impacts. On the statistical side it was shown that employment status for Indigenous people had barely changed for 30 years despite multinational corporations like Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton setting ambitious employment targets for Indigenous employment.…”