The mining boom and Western Australia’s changing landscape: Towards sustainability or business as usual?

The practices and public reputation of mining have been changing over time. In the past, mining operations frequently stood accused of being socially and environmentally disruptive, whereas mining today invests heavily in ‘socially responsible’ and ‘sustainable’ business practices. Changes such as t...

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Main Authors: Brueckner, Martin, Durey, Angela, Mayes, Robyn, Pforr, Christof
Format: Journal Article
Published: EContent Management Pty Ltd 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36493
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author Brueckner, Martin
Durey, Angela
Mayes, Robyn
Pforr, Christof
author_facet Brueckner, Martin
Durey, Angela
Mayes, Robyn
Pforr, Christof
author_sort Brueckner, Martin
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The practices and public reputation of mining have been changing over time. In the past, mining operations frequently stood accused of being socially and environmentally disruptive, whereas mining today invests heavily in ‘socially responsible’ and ‘sustainable’ business practices. Changes such as these can be witnessed internationally as well as in places like Western Australia (WA), where the mining sector has matured into an economic pillar of the state, and indeed the nation in the context of the recent resources boom. This paper explores the role of mining in WA, presenting a multidisciplinary perspective on the sector’s contribution to sustainable development in the state. The perspectives offered here are drawn from community-based research and the associated academic literature as well as data derived from government sources and the not-for-profit sector. Findings suggest that despite noteworthy attitudinal and operational improvements in the industry, social, economic and environmental problem areas remain. As mining in WA is expected to grow in the years to come, these problem areas require the attention of business and government alike to ensure the long-term sustainability of development as well as people and place.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-364932018-09-06T01:33:28Z The mining boom and Western Australia’s changing landscape: Towards sustainability or business as usual? Brueckner, Martin Durey, Angela Mayes, Robyn Pforr, Christof Western Australia sustainable development sustainable mining developmentalism resource-based development The practices and public reputation of mining have been changing over time. In the past, mining operations frequently stood accused of being socially and environmentally disruptive, whereas mining today invests heavily in ‘socially responsible’ and ‘sustainable’ business practices. Changes such as these can be witnessed internationally as well as in places like Western Australia (WA), where the mining sector has matured into an economic pillar of the state, and indeed the nation in the context of the recent resources boom. This paper explores the role of mining in WA, presenting a multidisciplinary perspective on the sector’s contribution to sustainable development in the state. The perspectives offered here are drawn from community-based research and the associated academic literature as well as data derived from government sources and the not-for-profit sector. Findings suggest that despite noteworthy attitudinal and operational improvements in the industry, social, economic and environmental problem areas remain. As mining in WA is expected to grow in the years to come, these problem areas require the attention of business and government alike to ensure the long-term sustainability of development as well as people and place. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36493 10.5172/rsj.2013.22.2.111 EContent Management Pty Ltd fulltext
spellingShingle Western Australia
sustainable development
sustainable mining
developmentalism
resource-based development
Brueckner, Martin
Durey, Angela
Mayes, Robyn
Pforr, Christof
The mining boom and Western Australia’s changing landscape: Towards sustainability or business as usual?
title The mining boom and Western Australia’s changing landscape: Towards sustainability or business as usual?
title_full The mining boom and Western Australia’s changing landscape: Towards sustainability or business as usual?
title_fullStr The mining boom and Western Australia’s changing landscape: Towards sustainability or business as usual?
title_full_unstemmed The mining boom and Western Australia’s changing landscape: Towards sustainability or business as usual?
title_short The mining boom and Western Australia’s changing landscape: Towards sustainability or business as usual?
title_sort mining boom and western australia’s changing landscape: towards sustainability or business as usual?
topic Western Australia
sustainable development
sustainable mining
developmentalism
resource-based development
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36493