Social Impact Assessement and coal mining: Springsure and Duaringa case studies

What are social impacts: Social impacts include any changes in “the ways in which people live, work, play, relate to one another, organize to meet their needs, and generally cope as members of society”. This includes cultural impacts, norms, values, and beliefs. US Guidelines and Principles for SIA

What is Social Impact Assessment? The US guidelines and principles for SIA “define social impact assessment in terms of efforts to assess or estimate, in advance, the social consequences that are likely to follow from specific policy actions … large projects, and leasing large tracts of land for resource extraction”. International guidelines define SIA as “the process of analysing and managing the intended and unintended consequences of planned interventions on people so as to bring about a more sustainable biophysical and human environment”.

Technical SIA Collecting data to inform decision- making Political SIA Creating opportunities for participation in decision-making Competing SIA paradigms?

SIA: the basic methodology Scoping  Identifying all possible impacts  Desktop analysis, key informant interviews Stakeholder analysis  Identifying all groups affected by, or likely to affect, the proposed project  Understanding the interests and aspirations of those groups in relation to the project  Exploring understandings of the project and potential impacts Verification and analysis  Estimating the magnitude, direction, duration and distribution of impacts  Stakeholder analysis, government records, survey data etc Negotiation  Locally relevant plan for stakeholder engagement and participation in decision-making

Stakeholder analysis methods Key informant interviews  15 semi-structured interviews in Duaringa  17 semi-structured interviews in Springsure  Representatives of health services, churches, businesses, police and schools

Positive mining impacts Income  Direct employment, indirect employment, business development Money in town  Appearance, contributions to service groups, support for local businesses Vibrancy (Springsure)  ‘a bit of excitement’ New people in town (Duaringa)  Family housing, maintenance of town character

Enhancing positive mining impacts Auxiliary industry Non-mining businesses Tourism Services Attracting mining families to live in area

Negative mine impacts Duaringa Direct impacts  Vibration, dust, noise, traffic, occupational health and safety (“boring, monotonous, high risk work”) Time rosters  Health, family life, clubs/volunteerism, schools, commuting, sense of community, lost business opportunities, road safety Housing cost and availability  Largest impact on those who don’t work in mining industry, rental prices tripling in only two years Springsure) Itinerant work population  Fear of crime/safety, loss of community, increased demand for voluntary services Labour availability Health facilities

Mitigating negative impacts Duaringa Direct impacts  Local power station, better communication with local residents Shift rosters and migration pattern  Attract more families vs encourage families to stay away, cheap rents for first 12 months, renegotiate shift rosters Housing  More public housing, improving land availability, cooperation between mines and local government, greater variety of housing options, entertainment facilities Itinerant workforce  Social activities to encourage interaction and break down stereotypes, welcome miners to community groups/clubs, policing Medical  Incentives for doctors to relocate