ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews several drivers to improve indigenous employment in the Australian mining industry. It focuses on some of the outcomes of indigenous employment at a number of Australian mining operations, leading to several questions about their consequences. Determining the consequences of mining employment for indigenous peoples is a complex task. The effects of employment span across several levels, from mine workers to their families and the communities from which they derive, as well as the communities to which they may relocate. Consideration of potential cultural impacts of mining is largely confined to the start-up or expansion phase of mining operations. Cultural concerns may be raised at community forums, anti-mining protests or, more formally, in anthropological and archaeological reports invoked through the social impact and cultural heritage assessment processes. The chapter concludes by highlighting the need for a culturally appropriate research framework for indigenous employment.
