RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCE DEPENDENCY OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES - AUSTRALIA JAWOYN ABORIGINES AND MINING AT CORONATION HILL

Indigenous people and their communities are often critical actors in r esource development networks dominated by large-scale private and publ ic sector organizations. Development policies and projects have often been contentious in Australia because lands on which development has o ccurred or been proposed are frequently areas of spiritual and traditi onal significance to Aboriginal people. Conflicts over development are therefore intense, occur in the context of a history of social and po litical exploitation of Aboriginal people, and focus on issues of symb olic value, local autonomy, power, and participation in planning. This article applies social assessment models recognizing resource develop ment as a power network to the analysis of the social impacts of devel opment and focuses on the political involvement of local communities a s basic to social justice. Research results suggest that social impact assessments should include assessments of community competency to par ticipate in corporate resource development networks and should study t he institutional basis of local participation.