Mobilising labour in remote ‘boom’ towns for economic diversification: the case of Tennant Creek, Australia

New economic opportunities in remote areas are often linked to major private and public sector investment projects which are controlled by external decisionmakers and lead to temporary periods of economic ‘boom’. There is little agreement in the literature about the extent to which local communities in remote areas can benefit from such opportunities and access employment in industries dependent on external decision-makers. This article investigates the case of Tennant Creek, a small and remote settlement in the Northern Territory of Australia, and provides a methodological framework for examining the diversification potential of local economies dependent on externally driven economic opportunities. By analysing local labour changes from 2001 to 2011, the research examined the town’s capacity to mobilise its labour force and diversify in response to new opportunities offered by a range of economic ‘booms’ in the mining, construction, transport, tourism, health, education and government service sectors. The results suggest that Tennant Creek has been able to adapt its local labour force to some degree to take advantage of new economic opportunities. However, concerns remain about the town’s strong dependence on public service sector employment, major unrealised potential in the tourism and transaction service sectors, and declining participation of Indigenous residents in economic boom industries.