Boomtown: Runaway Globalisation on the Queensland Coast

The problem of power: Partial electrification in Northern Uganda

“…The clashing scales of infrastructural developments (Eriksen 2018) are nowhere more visible than in this setting. The gap between the level of the central planning of large-scale infrastructure and its local implementation is glaring and renders local populations relatively powerless vis-à-vis the state.…”

The State’s Stakes at the Century Mine, 1992–2012

“…In this region, as elsewhere, national economic growth and Queensland economic prosperity have provided temporary benefits for locals but have historically failed to deliver broad and lasting benefits to mining-affected areas (Eriksen 2018). Mining-affected communities now demand of the state a new balance between state economic priorities and local interests.…”

“…In a similar vein, Martin Espig describes a 'partially absent' state in the context of coal seam gas developments in western Queensland, where the rapid development of multiple gas projects outpaced the regulating departments of the state and pushed them beyond their capacity once developments fully commenced. These 'runaway processes' (Eriksen 2018) reveal the contradictions at the heart of contemporary extractive capitalism, and the double bind that encompasses the state, suspended between short-term growth imperatives and long-term goals of stability and sustainability.…”

“…With thousands of operational wells, the Western Downs is the most intensively developed area in Australia in terms of unconventional gas projects. Its gas fields supply three major liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants that are located some 500 km to the north on Curtis Island near the town of Gladstone (Eriksen 2018).…”