Power, Culture, Economy Indigenous Australians and Mining Jon Altman and David Martin (Editors) THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY E P R E S S Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research College of Arts and Social Sciences The Australian National University, Canberra Research Monograph No. 30 2009 Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/c30_citation.html National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Title: Power, culture, economy : indigenous Australians and mining / editors Jon Altman, David Martin. ISBN: 9781921536861 (pbk.) 9781921536878 (pdf) Series: Research monograph (Australian National University. Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research) ; no. 30. Notes: Bibliography. Subjects: Aboriginal Australians--Economic conditions. Aboriginal Australians--Social conditions. Mineral industries--Australia. Mineral industries--Environmental aspects--Australia. Mineral industries--Social aspects--Australia. Other Authors/Contributors: Altman, Jon C., 1954- Martin, D. F. (David F.) Australian National University. Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research. Dewey Number: 305.89915 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design by ANU E Press. Printed by University Printing Services, ANU This edition © 2009 ANU E Press Contents List of Figures v List of Tables vii Foreword ix John Nieuwenhuysen AM Notes on contributors xi Abbreviations and acronyms xv Acknowledgements xvii 1. Contestations over development 1 Jon Altman 2. Indigenous communities, miners and the state in Australia 17 Jon Altman 3. Data mining: Indigenous Peoples, applied demography and the 51 resource extraction industry John Taylor 4. Aboriginal organisations and development: 73 The structural context Robert Levitus 5. The governance of agreements between Aboriginal people and 99 resource developers: Principles for sustainability David F. Martin 6. Corporate responsibility and social sustainability: 127 Is there any connection? Katherine Trebeck 7. Indigenous entrepreneurialism and mining land use agreements 149 Sarah Holcombe 8. Mining agreements, development, aspirations, and livelihoods 171 Benedict Scambary References 203 Key Project Publications 241 List of Figures 2.1 The location of the three case studies 34 2.2 The hybrid economy framework 45 3.1 The potential recognition space for indicators of Indigenous well-being 60 3.2 Indigenous population projections 1996–2016 in selected 67 mining regions 5.1 Gulf Communities Agreement structure 105 5.2 Key agreement governance arenas 116 7.1 The Pilbara region, Western Australia 150 v List of Tables 2.1 Social indicator outcomes at mine site and some other jurisdictions, 32 2001 Census 2.2 Social indicator outcomes in eight mining regions, 2001 Census 33 3.1 Data items available for the Thamarrurr region from Commonwealth, 56 Northern Territory and local government agencies 3.2 Extra Indigenous jobs required in the West Kimberley by 2021 68 3.3 Summary indicative proxies of Indigenous labour force exclusion, 69 Pilbara region, 2006 vii Foreword Twenty-five years ago, in 1984, the then Chairman of the Aboriginal Development Commission, Charles Perkins, referred to the tensions between mining interests and Aboriginal opinion. These, he said, `¼ date back to those times of notoriety, not so long ago, when certain Aboriginal groups resisting European pressures on their land were simply swept aside ¼ The deep and degrading cultural disruption, the assault of noise, dust and lost privacy, the loss of social integrity of Aboriginal groups, and the outrageously low return in the way of royalties, employment and other benefits, have all formed part of the picture of the Australian development ªfrontierº' (Cousins and Nieuwenhuysen 1984: xii±xiii). Despite the great rise in mining's share of Gross Domestic Product from 1.7 per cent in 1960±61 to 6.1 per cent in 1980±81, a study in 1984 found that Aboriginals then played only a small part in the operations of major mining companies; occupied mainly unskilled or semi skilled blue collar jobs; and had available to them only limited training opportunities, almost all of which were restricted to narrow job classifications (Cousins and Nieuwenhuysen 1984: 12±13). What has happened in the quarter of a century since those findings were made? In Power, Culture, Economy: Indigenous Australians and Mining, edited by Jon Altman and David Martin, an excellent set of chapters enriches and broadens our understanding of this issue. A specially pleasing aspect of the project has been that PhD scholars have been included, and guided not only to completion of their degrees but also to the attainment of a prestigious publication. It is however disappointing to learn that, after yet another major mineral boom in Australia, when in the five years to 2006 mining export revenues rose by over $100 billion (or around 70 per cent), Indigenous people still do not share equitably in the vast incomes which are generated from their lands in the remote regions of Australia. The words of Minister Jenny Macklin in 2008 that the potential of `¼ millions of dollars to be harnessed for economic and social advancement of native title holders, claimants and their communities ¼' remained to be realised are also a sorry reflection on events in the last twenty-five years. In this comment, Minister Macklin was echoing former Minister Amanda Vanstone, who asked why land rich Indigenous people were `dirt poor', and why the traditional owners of the land were the most disadvantaged living upon it. If way to the better there is, it exacts a good look at the worstÐafter Thomas HardyÐand the authors provide a sobering set of analyses of difficulties and uncertainties in the path ahead. They also ponder the classic question of the development economics literature: does economic growth in poorer societies automatically require a new social and cultural order, or can transformation to prosperity co-exist with at least some traditional ways of living? ix The answers to the questions are intractable, and a theme of the volume is the contestation of ideas and possible policy paths. Whereas a simple solution or proposal, if accepted, is presumably easier for communities and governments to act on, the scholarly review provided in this book is essential in canvassing the various options. This is the major contribution of the volume, coupled with the immense amount of new information and the broadening of the topics rightly considered relevant to the outcome. It is a special pleasure to welcome the publication of this book, since plans for it were hatched by my former colleague at the University of Melbourne, Professor Jon Altman, in association with Rio Tinto, through the redoubtable Bruce Harvey, and the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) where I was employed at the time. With CEDA's enthusiastic support, Jon and Bruce succeeded in arranging a successful combined Linkage Grant application to the Australian Research Council (ARC), which was coupled with substantial, generous matching funding from Rio Tinto. There can be no doubt that the ARC Linkage Grant system, which provides incentives for industry to back up research funds from the Commonwealth, is an excellent vehicle for furthering essential enquiry effort and output. This project, under the leadership of Professor Jon Altman and the prodigiously productive Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at The Australian National University, is a prime example of the importance of the ARC Linkage Grant scheme. It is also a very favourable reflection on the enlightened attitude to funding of research by Rio Tinto, which showed absolute respect for the independence of the scholars in designing and undertaking their work and in reaching conclusions. I therefore warmly congratulate the editors and authors on their work. They have provided material and analysis which is essential to consider in improving the longstanding unsatisfactory relationship between mining activity and the plight of the Indigenous people from whose lands the mineral wealth is being extracted. Professor John Nieuwenhuysen AM Director, Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements x Power, Culture, Economy Notes on contributors Jon Altman Jon Altman has a disciplinary background in economics and anthropology. He has been involved in research in relation to Indigenous Australians since the late 1970s. In 1990 he became the inaugural director of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at The Australian National University, where he is still located. Professor Altman divides his research effort between a focus on national economic and policy issues and a specific regional focus on western Arnhem Land where he has worked with communities for 30 years. Professor Altman was Chief Investigator on the Indigenous Community Organisations and Miners: Partnering Sustainable Regional Development? ARC Linkage project. He is currently an ARC Australian Professorial Fellow. Sarah Holcombe Sarah Holcombe worked at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at The Australian National University for six years, to early 2008. Dr Holcombe was a part-time Research Associate on the ARC Linkage project while also working