Resource Curse or Cure? ― On the Sustainability of Development in Western Australia

Globalisation and rapid social and environmental change in recent decades have brought into sharper focus not only the benefits but also the costs of economic development. The once assumed link between economic development and societal well-being is being increasingly questioned in the face of growing social and environmental problems and unfulfilled expectations concerning political and commercial decision-makers. The orthodox development dogma is being tested in particular in resource-based economies such as Western Australia, where globalisation pressures and the concomitant rise in the demand for natural resources highlight the difficulties of effectively balancing broader societal interests with those of industry and the state. This book provides a critical review of the socio-political, environmental and cultural state of play in Western Australia, offering an analysis of how resource-based developments are shaping the state and its people.

Dr Martin Brueckner is a lecturer at the Institute for Social Sustainability within the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Murdoch University. He is a social ecologist with a background in management, economics and environmental policy. His research is focused on industry-community relations, sustainable communities and regional sustainability with a social justice emphasis. Martin has held academic positions at Edith Cowan University and Curtin University where he continues to hold adjunct positions.

Dr Angela Durey is a Senior Research Fellow in the Curtin Health Innovation Research Unit at Curtin University and is a Team Investigator on a National Health and Medical Research Council Capacity Building Grant in improving mental health in Indigenous communities. She is an anthropologist and also has a background in nursing. Her research on rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health has focused on mainstream service delivery, the notion of whiteness and privilege and exploring the concept and experience of the intercultural space.

Dr Robyn Mayes is a Curtin Targetted Research Fellow in the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy at Curtin University. Her research explores the social dimensions of mining with publications in the fields of gender and mining, industrial change, community and regional development and mining, corporate social responsibility and class relations in mining communities.

Dr Christof Pforr is an Associate Professor and Discipline Leader (International Business, Tourism, Hospitality and Events) with the School of Management, Curtin Business School Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia. Prior to joining Curtin in 2003, he held academic positions at the Northern Territory University, the University of Canberra and Edith Cowan University. His main research interests include tourism policy and planning, sustainable (tourism) development, health tourism, coastal tourism and geotourism as well as destination governance with a specific focus on network management and network analysis, all fields he has frequently published in. He has contributed to more than 100 publications and numerous international research collaborations. He has authored, co-authored or co-edited six books, is Co-Editor of the Asia Pacific Journal of Economics & Business, on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Safety and Security in Tourism / Hospitality and Book Review Editor of the International Journal of Tourism Policy.