Odette Mazel

Poverty in the Midst of Plenty: Aboriginal People, the ‘Resource Curse’ and Australia’s Mining Boom

The lessons of the resource curse case studies for the institution and policy environment in Australia are explored in this article, drawing on research conducted on the negotiation and implementation of agreements with indigenous Australians. We show how the resource curse theories are partially applicable in areas in which Australian indigenous communities neighbour mining operations and outline the legal frameworks in Australia that apply especially in native title matters. Also, we include in our analysis the application of the concept of the ‘social licence to operate’ that informs the mining industry relationship with these communities. We also discuss the way that these practices form the basis of the industry’s approach to ‘corporate social responsibility’, which, along with legal compliance with the statutory framework, are intended to ameliorate the disadvantages faced by those communities. Despite these reforms, however, little socio-economic improvement has been made in these communities and we look to the inequitable distribution of impacts on local peoples, issues of rent seeking and substitution, and the potential impacts of low levels of economic diversification, as explanations. Finally, we consider what institutional and other reforms might be effective in these circumstances.

Innovation in Indigenous Health and Medical Education: The Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) Network as a Community of Practice

Problem: The Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) Network aims to improve the quality and effectiveness of Indigenous health in medical education as well as best practice in the recruitment, retention, and graduation of Indigenous medical students. Intervention: In this article we explore the utility of Etienne Wengers “communities of practice” (CoP) concept in providing a theoretical framework to better understand the LIME Network as a form of social infrastructure to further knowledge and innovation in this important area of health care education reform. Context: The Network operates across all medical schools in Australia and New Zealand. Outcome: Utilizing a model of evaluation of communities of practice developed by Fung-Kee-Fung et al., we seek to analyze the outcomes of the LIME Network as a CoP and assess its approach and contribution to improving the implementation of Indigenous health in the medical curriculum and the graduation of Indigenous medical students. Lessons Learned: By reflecting on the Network through a community of practice lens, this article highlights the synthesis between the LIME Network and Wengers theory and provides a framework with which to measure Network outputs. It also posits an opportunity to better capture the impact of Network activities into the future to ensure that it remains a relevant and sustainable entity.

Development in the 'First World': Alleviating Indigenous Disadvantage in Australia - the Dilemma of Difference

The levels of Indigenous disadvantage in Australia are startling compared with those of the rest of the nation. Despite various government initiatives and legal reforms, systemic poverty remains prevalent in Aboriginal communities. In the Northern Territory, this has culminated in the Emergency Intervention initiated by the Howard government in 2007. In this paper, I explore the way in which the dynamic of difference, or the understanding of difference as ‘otherness’ which lies at the heart of colonialism, continues to prevail in Indigenous affairs and underlies the latest efforts of the Australian government in the Northern Territory. I apply this notion of difference as a platform for understanding the arguments for and against the Intervention. I suggest that this emergency has opened a new chapter in the dilemma of how we account for this special case of difference in Australian society.

History of the LIME Network and the development of Indigenous health in medical education

The Medical Journal of Australia ISSN: 0025729X 8 July 2013 199 1 65-68 ©The Medical Journal of Australia 2013 www.mja.com.au Reflections (history) their families. Over time, and in recognition of the role Aboriginal and Torres Str it Islanders in informing government policies and initiatives, researchers and med practitioners began to ack owledge the special place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the health system.1-6 The status of Indigenous peoples’ health in Australia a The Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) Network has developed over time as an avenue for sharing, developing and improving upon the emerging discipline of Indigenous health in medical education

Indigenous Health and Human Rights: A Reflection on Law and Culture

In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples bear a greater burden of disease and have lower life expectancy than their non-Indigenous counterparts. These combined indicators are evidence of an entrenched health crisis in the Indigenous population that is linked to systemic disadvantage over many decades. In an effort to improve life expectancy and lessen the burden of disease, a number of strategies and national frameworks now embed a human rights-based approach to achieving health equality. This paper explores the application of human rights to Indigenous health and examines the inherent tensions that exist in engaging a system of law based on universal assumptions of the Enlightenment to advance Indigenous rights. What becomes apparent through this exploration is that the strategic approach of Indigenous peoples’ use of human rights, despite its genesis in a system of law that justified colonisation, has opened up opportunities to reframe fixed ideas of law and culture.