If Australia wants to avoid the “resources curse” it needs to proactively strengthen its institutions. Left unchecked, our increased reliance on the resource sector to drive the economy could lead to a…
Australia’s mining companies have intensified their exploration of resources in Indonesia, much to the detriment of local communities.
Jeff Lewis
Not satisfied with the abundance of our own natural resources, Australian mining companies have spread their interests across the region. Many of these ventures— Ok Tedi, Bougainville, Freeport-Grasberg…
Australia’s boom investment conditions will begin tailing off by 2014, according to a Deloitte Access Economics report – so what does this mean for current labour shortages?
Much public discussion around the current mining boom focuses on the lack of qualified staff to fill an expanding employment market.
But yesterday’s report by Deloitte Access Economics warning that the…
The Perth CBD showing the corner of William Street and Hay Street.
(AAP/Tony McDonough)
AUSTRALIA BY NUMBERS: The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released the first batch of its census data. We’ve asked some of the country’s top demographers and statisticians to crunch the numbers on…
The population has the best chance of stabilising if we improve the lives of the poor and reign in excessive consumption of the wealthier.
Flickr/DaveWilsonPhotography
Welcome to the State of the Future series. This series addresses 15 global challenges posed by the Millennium Project, an international non-profit think-tank collecting responses for 40 nodes worldwide…
Chinese paramilitary police prepare for a storm in the South China Sea.
EPA/str
The lines traversing the surface of the globe are legal fictions that determine the fates of nations. Nowhere is this truer than in the South China Sea.
China’s infamous U-shaped line claims most of this…
Many Argentinians are in favour of President Kirchner’s expropriation of oil company YPF, but what impact will it have on the beleaguered nation’s economic growth?
AAP
In mid-April, in the largest nationalisation since Russia’s acquisition of Yukos in 2003, Argentina’s President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, seized a majority stake in the oil company Yacimientos Petrol…
Australia has the resources – but the environmental cost could be huge.
AAP/Purple Communications
AUSTRALIA IN THE ASIAN CENTURY – A series examining Australia’s role in the rapidly transforming Asian region. Delivered in partnership with the Australian government.
Here, Dr Gavin Mudd considers the…
Billionaire Clive Palmer: how much of his fabulous wealth is due to government policy?
AAP
Over the last year or so, the Occupy movement has garnered wide attention, with people of all backgrounds gathering to protest the deteriorating social conditions.
However, these grievances have been…
There has been a concerted push for foreign workers to fill the gaps in the resources industry.
AAP
Within the much publicised debate of labour shortages in the resources sector, there is now a concerted push to open up employment to larger numbers of skilled foreign workers.
Large employers such as…
Celebrating: after being seen as a basket case for so long, Brazil’s economy is now powering.
AAP
Few countries have been left unscathed by the global financial crisis and it seems that they are all situated in the southern hemisphere. Brazil and Australia are some of them. Recently, their economies…
Former President Lula used Brazil’s commodities boom to secure the country’s future.
AAP
Brazil has just passed the United Kingdom to become the sixth-largest economy in the world. Only a decade ago such news would have been written off as just another version of the old joke, “Brazil is the…
Paul Cleary’s book, Too Much Luck, highlights the many negative consequences of the mining boom.
AAP
Paul Cleary’s book Too Much Luck: The Mining Boom and Australia’s Future, is a timely appraisal of the dramatic economic and social impacts, as well as the political ramifications of the current resource…
Paul Cleary’s book, Too Much Luck, paints a negative picture of Australia’s mining industry.
AAP
If Paul Cleary is to be believed in his recently published book, Too Much Luck: The Mining Boom and Australia’s Future, the resources boom is the worst thing that ever happened to Australia.
He maintains…
India is emerging as a world economy – so why can’t Australia make more its relationship?
AAP
CHOGM: As the leaders of Commonwealth nations prepare to meet in Perth this week, The Conversation is examining the role of the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) Meeting.
In the first…
Activists protest against Glencore by placing bottles of polluted water at its Swiss offices.
AAP
Welcome to “The most powerful companies you’ve never heard of” – an ongoing series from The Conversation that sheds light on big companies with low profiles.
Today, The University of Western Australia…
Working to improve the performance of the resources sector is a challenging, yet important research focus.
AFP/Christian Sprogoe/Rio Tinto
There is common assumption that those of us who undertake applied research with the commercial world must be biased.
This month the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), which…
Despite strong export data, Australia’s trade relationship with China isn’t as developed as we think.
AAP
AUSTRALIA IN ASIA: In the seventh part of our series, James Laurenceson looks at the challenges in doing business with China.
The headline numbers surrounding Australia’s exports to China make for impressive…
Peace and stability will be crucial for Libya’s post-revolution development.
AAP
With the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s autocratic regime, the transitional government in Libya is prompting hopes for a new era of democracy in the country.
While a swift transition to democracy is certainly…
Out of the box: an export tax could be combined with the Federal Government proposed resources tax.
AAP
Australia’s lagging manufacturing sector faced thorough scrutiny last week, amid calls for more government support for local industries following BlueScope Steel’s $1 billion loss and its decision to sack…
What can you do with a hole in the ground? It’s about more than planting trees.
OZinOH/flickr
In late 1986, residents of Diamond St, Kingston, an outer southern suburb of Brisbane, began to notice a black sludge-like substance seeping through the soil and into their gardens.
Within six months…
OPEC president Mohammad Aliabadi believes speculation in futures is inflating oil prices. He is wrong.
AAP
OPEC Conference president Mohammad Aliabadi recently joined a chorus of international observers to blame speculation as the source of ongoing volatility in the global oil market.
Speaking at an OPEC Conference…
Sunset on the Kimberley coastline. Is the future of tourism in WA at risk from mining?
AAP
The West Australian government’s decision to reject a proposal to establish a coal mine near the Margaret River in the state’s south came after a drawn-out application and approval process that was anything…
Will Andrew Forrest succeed in his push to change the mining tax? Others have succeeded in the past.
AAP
Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s visit to Canberra earlier this week didn’t prove particularly effective in swaying the government on its freshly drafted mineral resources rent tax (MRRT) legislation.
But the…
Fortescue chief and mining magnate Andrew Forrest changes focus.
AAP
Andrew Forrest, one of Australia’s wealthiest mining magnates, has announced his resignation as chief executive of Fortescue Metals Group.
In a statement released to the ASX, Fortescue Metals Group Chairman…
China can easily rouse its banks, but awakening its consumers will be tougher.
AAP
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett’s bold claim on Friday that his state was looking “over the horizon” past Canberra to forge stronger links with China capped off a few weeks of strong rhetoric from…
