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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.

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Curse or Cure?.- The Politics of Development in Western Australia.- A Review of the Resources Sector in Western Australia.- Ethics of Deployment.- Resources, Global Production Networks and Regional Development.- CSR in the Resource Sector of Western Australia.- Gendered Dimensions of Resource Extraction.- Mining and Indigenous Socio-Economic Advancement.- Too Close to the Wheels of Progress: A Perspective on a Community´s Experience.- Oil and Gas and Tourism in the West Kimberley, Australia.- Sustaining Local Communities: Mining Automation and Local Benefits.- Social Impacts of Fly-in / Fly-out Work Practices.- Mining and Sustainable Local Communities.- Mining and Biodiversity.- Regulating the Resource Juggernaut.- Water, Development and the Extractive Industrial State.- Enduring Community Value from Mining.- Challenging the ´Resource Curse´ in Australian Regions in Transition.- Geotourism - A Sustainable Development Alternative for Western Australia?.- Indigenous Culture and Health.- Reconciling Tensions: A Way Forward?

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"Resource Curse or Cure? is an excellent addition to the body of critical work on the Australian resource sector. A non-specialist in the Australian mining industry would find the book a great introduction to the key issues, while a veteran scholar on the industry would find a useful synthesis, an update and a repository of new data." (Franklin Obeng-Odoom, Economic Record, Vol. 91 (292), March, 2015)

"This book provides a thought-provoking, research-based and refreshing view of economic, social and environmental sustainability in the resources industry. It will be useful for policy-makers, regulatory authorities, industry members and researchers in Western Australia and could also be valuable to such groups in other regions and countries heavily reliant on extracting natural resources." (Philippa Vojnovic, Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 22 (1), March, 2015)

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