Fiona Haslam McKenzie

Fly-In Fly-Out: The Challenges of Transient Populations in Rural Landscapes

Australia has experienced a prolonged economic boom and Western Australia in particular has benefited from the growing Indian and Chinese economies and their demand for mineral resources. The renewed mining fervour in Western Australia has had far reaching impacts in rural regions. Some communities are overwhelmed by a new population connected with mining, bringing with it a range of social and economic stresses and strains that small communities, in particular, are struggling to cope with. In other communities, particularly those in remote areas where housing and infrastructure are not able to meet the demands of burgeoning industry, fly-in fly-out (FIFO ) labour forces increasingly underpin a wide variety of industry sectors. The scale of the FIFO work force is not easy to ascertain as the Australian Census does not specifically capture this information and the fluidity of the workforce makes it difficult for local authorities to calculate the working population and its demands. With such peripatetic populations, regional authorities struggle to maintain a sense of community and infrastructure without a rate-paying resident population, while local resources are stretched and often unable to cope with the increased FIFO population using them. This chapter will discuss the population changes that are occurring in rural, regional and remote Western Australia and the opportunities and challenges these changes present.

An expanded role for the mining sector in Australian society

Abstract Questions over the role of mining in the Australian economy and society have gained increasing public scrutiny in recent years. In this paper we consider whether the role of mining in Australian society has changed with the recent mining boom. The paper draws attention to four key areas. The first is the economics of mining, where a rise in commodity values has made mining more profitable. Mining now dominates Australian exports more than in previous booms. The second area is the scale of mining operations, which have grown substantially, reflecting unprecedented investment. The third area is the degree to which the effects of resource extraction extend to surrounding areas and distant urban centres through long distance commuting. Finally, we consider the centrality of the mining sector in public life: attention to mining in the media and encroachment on other land uses, and we look for evidence of changes in public acceptance of the sector. In conclusion we argue that the role of the mining sector in Australian society and economy has indeed changed. The changes in terms of trade and the scale of mining have made the resource sector so important in Australia that increased impact in public life is unavoidable.

Delivering Enduring Benefits from a Gas Development: Governance and planning challenges in remote Western Australia

ABSTRACTThis paper reviews the complex and multifaceted adjustment pressures being experienced by Onslow, a small, remote town in Western Australias Pilbara, as a result of a large gas development. Some members of the community are enthusiastic about the opportunities that the gas industry will bring, although the majority are wary of the negative impacts of rapid growth and corporate dominance observed in other Pilbara towns during the mining boom. The paper reports on the strategies being utilised by the company, the different spheres of government and the local community representatives in order to come to an agreement about how to achieve enduring community value so that the aesthetic attributes of the town and quality of life in Onslow will be enhanced, while also accommodating a large constructive workforce which will leave within a short time (4 years). Using data collected about the Pilbara and the socio-economic impacts of the mining industry on other towns, the lessons learned from rapid growth...ABSTRACT This paper reviews the complex and multifaceted adjustment pressures being experienced by Onslow, a small, remote town in Western Australias Pilbara, as a result of a large gas development. Some members of the community are enthusiastic about the opportunities that the gas industry will bring, although the majority are wary of the negative impacts of rapid growth and corporate dominance observed in other Pilbara towns during the mining boom. The paper reports on the strategies being utilised by the company, the different spheres of government and the local community representatives in order to come to an agreement about how to achieve enduring community value so that the aesthetic attributes of the town and quality of life in Onslow will be enhanced, while also accommodating a large constructive workforce which will leave within a short time (4 years). Using data collected about the Pilbara and the socio-economic impacts of the mining industry on other towns, the lessons learned from rapid growth elsewhere were applied in Onslow and the outcomes assessed and reported. It is evident that the community engagement strategies and the collaborative planning processes have been undermined by disconnects between commercial imperatives, governance frameworks, investment risk and timeframes.

Housing Market Failure in a Booming Economy

This paper presents national data and two case studies investigating the links between housing market failure and the context of Australias recent resource mining boom. It demonstrates how unprecedented international demand for mineral resources resulted in critical, local housing issues in mining communities. We conclude that without careful strategic planning and understanding of the economic and social role of housing, international market dynamics can create local housing situations that are vulnerable to market and social failures. While this paper highlights the challenges inherent in managing housing issues in Australia during a mining boom, there are likely to be lessons which can be applied in international settings. These challenges include the diversity in scale, cyclical and often unpredictable nature of booms; differences in housing policy and institutional arrangements across jurisdictions and the importance of leadership in growth management and planning.

Attracting and retaining skilled and professional staff in remote locations of Australia

Remote Australia constitutes ~75% of the continent and is a dry, often harsh environment in which to live; consequently less than 3% of Australias population reside there but it is also where a substantial proportion of Australias export wealth is derived. It is therefore important that attention is paid to ensuring that remote locations in Australia are liveableandthatinnovativestrategiesarepursuedtoattractandretainaproductiveworkforceintheseplaces.Attractingand retaining skilled and professional staff is a problem not limited to remote, or even rural and regional locations in Australia. Thereisstrongevidencetosuggestthatitisincreasinglyaglobalproblemandorganisationsthroughouttheworldareseeking innovative strategies to attract and develop new talent and developing other strategies to retain that talent. This paper examinespopulationandlabourmobilitytrendsinremoteAustraliaandtheissuesthathavebeeninfluentialonratesofstaff attraction and retention, most particularly adequate housing, services and infrastructure. The second half of the paper examinesavarietyofrecommendationsandstrategiesdevelopedbythepublicandprivatesectorstomoreeffectivelyattract andretainskilledandprofessionalstafftoremotelocations.Thispaperdoesnotclaimtobearigorousanalysisofallremote areasofAustralianoracomprehensivestudyofattractionandretentionstrategies.Rather,itaimstohighlightthecomplexity, depth and interconnectedness of the issues for communities, public and private sectors and how they apply in remote locations in Australia.

Agricultural Areas Under Metropolitan Threats: Lessons for Perth from Barcelona

A common reason for rural demographic change is peri-urban or peri-metropolitan in-migration. This pattern inevitably causes the loss of farmland on the edge of the city. Agricultural land reduction in this spatial context has received attention from a large body of international literature. The focus of this chapter is the strategic value, in productive terms, that fringe farmland represents as a foodbowl for the metropolis. The central aim of this work is to review recent arguments being claimed for the necessity to manage agricultural areas located in or near to metropolitan areas, applying some of the ideas developed in a European setting to an Australian case study. Innovative schemes are presented, considering productive possibilities in peri-urban contexts and recent planning and management tools to ensure their longevity. A peri-urban agricultural-based case study located in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) is analysed. This case, Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park (BLAP ), is an internationally recognised example of peri-urban agricultural space planning and management dedicated to the preservation and conservation of agricultural land. The lessons from BLAP could be applied elsewhere and in this chapter we consider the possibilities for the strategic preservation of a highly productive locality on the fringes of Perth , Western Australia’s capital city.

The re-emergence of regional policy and planning in Western Australia

Regional development has long been an important policy concern in Western Australia. As the nation’s largest state, covering approximately one-third of Australia’s landmass (2.5 million square kilometres), it exhibits considerable environmental, economic and social diversity. It is also a state where primary industries are the key drivers of the economy, particularly agriculture, mining and, to a lesser extent, forestry and fisheries. While these activities are located almost exclusively in non-metropolitan regions, population and capital tend to accumulate in the state’s major metropolitan region, Perth. Indeed, of the 1.8 million people living in Western Australia, 1.3 million (72%) live in the Perth metropolitan area (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2004). At the same time, non-metropolitan areas contribute 82% of Western Australia’s export income (Department of Local Government and Regional Development, 2003a). This disparity raises an inevitable tension in Western Australian politics and policy making, with regional areas often arguing that the concentration of public investment in infrastructure and services in the Perth metropolitan area is at the expense of those regions that generate the majority of the state’s export income. For much of its history, the State Government of Western Australia dealt with this tension through a series of policies based loosely around the principles of regional economic balance and socio-spatial equity, thereby attempting to ensure that certain regions were not ‘left behind’ at the expense of others (Tonts & Jones, 1997). There was also a focus on developing industries based on Western Australia’s natural resources, since the state’s isolation and small population meant that large-scale secondary industries, such as manufacturing, were unlikely to be competitive with other ‘core’ Australian or Asian regions (Bolton, 1982). Thus, much of the investment in regional development was focused on non-metropolitan areas. The provision of agricultural land for settlers, financial support for farming through credit and subsidies, the construction of railways and other transport infrastructure,

Leadership in Local Government: 'No Girls Allowed'

This article explores the under-representation of women at the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) levels of Western Australian (WA) local government. It draws on data collected from 21 second tier senior women managers about their perceptions and experiences of leadership within the sector, as well as their aspirations for CEO appointment. By applying critical gender analysis to the data, gender and specifically masculinity emerges as a significant and valued leadership attribute. While this analysis is not unique to local government, what sets the sector apart is its apparent disinterest in examining the reasons for, or the impacts of this continued leadership stereotype when at the same time Australian public and private institutions are challenging these traditional leadership models. This article points to fundamental weaknesses in the formal power structures and processes of local government that support deeply embedded biases about leadership. Perhaps the most significant contributor to these outcomes that emerged from the study is the apparent unencumbered power of Mayors and elected members over all aspects of CEO employment, especially recruitment.

Making visible the 'space of betweenness': Understanding women's limited access to leadership in regional Australia

In this article we proffer the metaphor of a ‘space of betweenness’ to explain womens limited access to leadership roles in Australian peak agricultural industry and regional governance boards. In reviewing the statistics around womens leadership roles in regional Australia, and womens own stories of their activities, we argue that despite womens contribution to their local communities through their diverse roles in paid work, it seems the triple jeopardy of their sex, their location and the nature of their businesses positions them in a ‘space of betweenness’, rendering them invisible and limiting their ability to access many formal leadership roles.

The Socio-economic Impacts of Long-Distance Commuting on People and Communities

This chapter explores the socio-economic impacts of long distance commuting on host and source communities. It explains why companies and people choose to commute long distances to work, how and where they spend their incomes and discuss who benefits and who loses through long distance work arrangements. It also discusses the public policy implications of peripatetic workforce arrangements and reviews several government enquiries into the practice.