Biographical note
After completing a BA in social science, focusing on Asia Pacific governance and development, Lokes worked for a number of years in the community development and child community services industries in Queensland and Papua New Guinea. His work experience coupled with being PNG born led him to complete a graduate diploma looking at resource company CSR in Papua New Guinea. Since completing his graduate diploma, Lokes has just started reading for a PhD at The Cairns Institute, James Cook University. His thesis will investigate social risk and governance within corporate-community relationships between multinational resource companies and affected local communities in PNG and Northern Australia.
Taking a great interest in PNG, Lokes is also research assistant for for Professor Rosita Henry and Dr Michael Wood, investigating transactions involving care and concern for elderly kin among Papua New Guineans in Far North Queensland. Additionally, Lokes is also part of The Streets Movement Organisation, a community development organisation working in the education, youth, community and corrective services spaces.
Research topic
Risk governance in the petroleum industry – assessing governance systems and social risk assessment in Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia.
Research outline
His PhD research will analyse risk governance and community engagement practices within corporate-community relationships in the context of large liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations. Field work will be undertaken at two field sites. In the Pilbara region of Western Australia and in Southern Highlands region of Papua New Guinea.
Poor management of social issues and ineffective community engagement creates constant complications for resource companies and communities in Papua New Guinea as well as Northern Australia. LNG projects and resource operations in remote regions of Northern Australia and PNG face complex conflicting demands across local, national and international domains of governance. Corporations often struggle to understand local community aspirations and face challenges implementing effective community engagement practices and effective risk governance mechanisms. Further research to understand how to manage the complexity of social risk emerging from the corporate-community relationship is needed to improve social development outcomes for both community and corporation. Effective community engagement enables sustainable and culturally attune outcomes for regional and remote communities impacted by petroleum operations.
Supervisory Team
Professor Allan Dale
Dr Michael Wood
Dr Catherine Mei Ling Wong (University of Luxembourg)
Research Grants
James Cook University High Degree Research Scholarship
Conference papers
Brooksbank, L., Henry, R., Neuendorf, N., & Wood, M. (2016, April). Planning for later life among Papua New Guineans in North Queensland. Paper presented in the panel on ‘Aging in the Pacific: Intergenerational and Transnational Care, 6th Biennial Conference of the Australian Association for Pacific Studies, The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns.