Active Research
BTRE: Focus on Regions No.3: Taxable Income
BTRE: Spatial Patterns of Development
CSRM: Social Indicators for Mining Associated Communities
CSRM: Monitoring the Impact of Coal Mining on Local Communities
Developing Local Synergies in the Gladstone Industrial Area
QUT: Age related Changes in Work Ability and Injury Risk in Coal Miners
UQ: Communication Strategies and Mechanisms for Informal/Mental Risk Assessment programs.
BTRE: Focus on Regions No.3: Taxable Income
Summary: This information paper presents and analyses statistical information about taxable income and economic activity in Australia's regions. It introduces and documents the BTRE's Taxable Income Database and explores its potential for use as an indicator of regional economic activity over time.
Due for release March 2004
BTRE: Spatial Patterns of Development
Summary: This working paper analyses historical and emerging patterns of settlement and economic activity, within multi-disciplinary theoretical frameworks (including economics, sociology and geography). The study also examines Australian and international drivers and inhibitors of spatial development patterns.
Due for release February 2004
CSRM: Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining
Social Indicators for Mining Associated Communities (SIMAC)
CSRM: Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining
Monitoring the Impact of Coal Mining on Local Communities
This project aims to assist Australian coal mining operations implement cost-effective impact monitoring strategies that are tailored to local circumstances and take account of community priorities.
The project will develop and test a process for involving community stakeholders, as well as site-based and corporate personnel, in the selection of monitoring strategies and metrics. The approach will be trialled at a large coal mining operation in the Hunter Valley. Based on the learnings from the case study, a manual will then be developed for industry-wide use.
The project will also produce a sourcebook of community impact measures suitable for use at site level. The sourcebook will contain suggested definitions, advice on data collection strategies and guidance on when particular measures should be used.
The project will be funded through the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP). A final report is due towards the end of 2004.
For further information about this project contact: Professor David Brereton
CQU: Socio-economic Impact Assesssment and Community Engagement to Reduce Conflict over Mine Operations
Coal mining operations can impact both positively and negatively on local and regional communities through the life cycle of mining operations. A greater understanding of these impacts is required if conflict over such issues as apportioning the responsibility for provision of infrastructure or the nature of the final rehabilitated land form is to be resolved. This project will develop processes that can be used by companies to understand the socioeconomic impacts of coal mine operation and closure and engage constructively with those effected by it.
Developing Local Synergies in the Gladstone Industrial Area
Contacts: Glen Corder and David Brereton
Local synergies, or the re-use of wastes and by-products in an industrial
region, can improve resource utilisation, reduce consumption of raw materials
and reduce operational costs. This 3-year project, which commenced in April
2004, aims to facilitate the identification, development and implementation
of specific initiatives to improve local industrial synergies in the Gladstone
region. The Co-operative Research Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing
(www.crsp.com.au) is funding this project and the Gladstone Area Industrial
Network are providing both financial and in-kind support. Further information
is available at http://www.csrm.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=20319&pid=5693.
QUT: Age Related changes in Work Ability and Injury Risk in Coal Miners
In NSW, miners over 45 years represent 49% of the average open cut and underground workforce. Significant demographic shifts are occurring in the industry that need to be understood and, if necessary, addressed. Any potential accommodation of older miner’s needs must account for age related changes in work ability. This project will utilise existing methods to characterise miner’s work ability and relate these measures to injury patterns. By identifying factors that are associated with different work ability and injury profiles in older miners, the project will provide a sound foundation for minimising age-specific injuries.
UQ: Communication Strategies and Mechanisms for Informal/Mental Risk Assessment Programs
Failure to identify hazards and assess risks while on the job is commonly viewed as the immediate cause of unwanted events. The actions or inactions taken by individuals are commonly attributed to human error rather than to systemic failure. Communication is a key to the effectiveness of any risk assessment process. This is the first stage of a two phase project that aims to identify an effective communication process for improving the management of hazards in day to day work.
UQ: Site-Level Community Engagement Processes in the Australian Minerals Industry: A Comparative Analysis
Contacts: David Brereton, Victor Callan, Bernard McKenna, Neil Paulsen and Lynda Herbert-Cheshirel.
A key principle of corporate social responsibility is that companies should endeavour to engage with, and be responsive to, the concerns of affected local communities. With the support of four industry partners, and funding from an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, this three-year study will compare how community engagement has been practised at seven Australian minerals operations. Commencing in early 2004, the study will assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of existing engagement processes, account for significant differences between sites, and identify opportunities for improving how companies engage with communities.