Local Industries in a Global Market: A Comparative Study of the Cape Breton and Queensland Coal Industries

Abstract

Despite their location in opposite hemispheres, Nova Scotia and Queensland have long shared similar problems in adapting to the vagaries of the world economy, with each relying on staples to maintain economic growth. While, in both these provincial societies, coal mining had become associated with a wider process of industrialization by 1914, in the wake of World War II each experienced a series of fundamental changes. Three distinct forces shaped this process of transition. First, there were the economic and technological forces that undercut the viability of local industries. Second, there were government responses to these forces for change. In Queensland, the state fostered the operation of market forces, privatizing state-owned mines and lifting restrictions on the production and marketing of coal. In Nova Scotia, in contrast, public ownership was imposed through the formation of a crown corporation (DEVCO). Despite these differences, however, government policies in both situations were premised on an acceptance of market forces, and of the need for “rationalizations” in the name of economic competitiveness. In consequence, in both Queensland and Nova Scotia, officially endorsed “transitions” were associated with reduced employment and mine closures. An alternative response to change, however, came from organized labour and the various mining communities. In Queensland, in particular, this response was based around a sustained opposition to the operation of market forces, and a defence of existing jobs and mines.