1. International best practices on the role of local
governments in multi-stakeholder collaboration
for socially accountable mining and
sustainable community development
Professor David Brereton
Deputy Director – Research Integration
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3. The Sustainable Minerals Institute: What we do

4. Presentation outline
• Mining – impacts and opportunities for local communities
• What should be the role of local government
• Making local government more effective
• How to involve local government more in the development
process
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5. A story from Australia: The Claremont
Preferred Futures Project

6. Overview of the Claremont initiative
• A collaboration between the local council and the company to
better prepare the town for upcoming mine closure
• Preferred Futures Steering Committee formed under the
guidance of the local Council and funded by the company
• Role of the Committee was to develop a strategy to broaden the
town’s economic base
• Conducted socio-economic research and a community visioning
process to inform the strategy
• Company and local government agreed to jointly fund a
Community Development Officer to fund the strategy
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7. Large-scale mining: impacts and opportunities
Potential Impacts
Population influx
Increased economic activity
Increased demand on services (schools, health, etc)
Increased pressure on infrastructure (e.g. roads)
Social changes
Environmental impacts
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8. Large-scale mining: impacts and opportunities
Opportunities
Expand the revenue base
Create new opportunities for local business
Increase employment opportunities
Improve infrastructure and services
Access funding for social programs
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9. Maximising value from mining projects: what to
avoid

10. Maximising value from mining projects: what to
work for

11. What we should be aiming for local
communities?
• improved quality of life
• protection of the environment
• more opportunities for people
• stronger institutions
• economic diversification
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12. Potential roles for local government
Representer
Service
&
Provider
Advocate
Broker/
Approver Partner
Facilitator

13. The reality
• In most mining economies, local government has little or no
regulatory authority over mining projects
– reliance on influence and persuasion, rather than direction
• Local governments are mostly focused on service delivery and
are often hindered by limited funding and capacity
• Local governments often do not do a good job of representing
their communities with companies and government
• There are examples of partnerships between local government
and companies, but they are not common
– limited capacity of local government
– lack of interest from mining companies
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14. What capabilities does local government need
to play a more active role in community
development?
• Understanding of • Consultation
development principles
• Communication
• Revenue management
• Collaboration
• Program planning and
implementation
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15. Common problems with local government
• Lack of capacity
– too few personnel, limited knowledge & skills, inadequate funding
• Unrepresentativeness
– Dominated by a few individuals and groups; does not speak for the
broader community
• Corruption and graft
– funding used for personal gain instead of intended purpose
– favouritism in decision-making
• Politicisation
– Short term political goals of representatives dominate over longer
term community interests
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16. Some suggested responses
• Funding arrangements
– Too much money, too quickly, is not a good thing
• Require companies to consult with local government in conducting
baselines & SIAs, and when developing community plans
• Citizen education
• Training of local government officials and representatives
• Technical facility to support development of management systems etc.
• Companies to make their management expertise available
• Specialist advisers
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17. Thankyou!
d.brereton@smi.uq.edu au
www.csrm.uq.edu.au
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