From "Up North" to "Down Under" : dynamics of shrinkage in mining communities in Canada and Australia

Reasons for hinterland decline in both countries (Canada and Australia) are similar and include economic restructuring from a primary and manufacturing-based economy towards a service-based economy (the jobs of which tend to be located in large metropolitan areas), low fertility rates and youth outmigration (primarily because of lack of jobs but also for lifestyle factors, including a desire to locate in surfing communities near the coast in the case of Australia and an inclination to be in "cool" mountain communities such as Banff in Canada). Like other hinterland communities, mining communities in Canada and Australia-the focus of this chapter-have generally been on the losing end of these broader demographic and economic trends. But they are also a "special case" of hinterland decline worthy of attention in this increasingly global world because their fortunes are dominated by a powerful actor that does not play a role (at least not to the same extent) in all hinterland communities:' multinational corporations. These corporations- who largely base their decision making on the especially volatile mineral markets-control a large portion of total jobs (especially higher paid jobs) and, because of the large environmental footprint of the mining industry, their actions (or lack thereof) can have devastating health and environmental impacts on the communities that depend on them. Mining communities thus face a paradox: they are physically isolated, yet their fortunes are largely determined by decisions made in growing centers of financial and political power.