Crisis & Change: Engaging Rural Communities in the Sugar Industry

Bandaranaike SD¹*

1. James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

The crisis in the Australian sugar industry has the potential to wipe out entire coastal communities with widespread economic and social ramifications. Understanding the adjustment of communities and their engagement in change is vital to the current restructuring and sustainability of the Australian sugar industry.

In this context this paper explores firstly, the contextual adjustment of communities to the crisis and their engagement with a range of stakeholders, including government, in restructuring for the future. Secondly, it measures the effectiveness and appropriateness of service delivery to these communities in the context of the restructuring process and issues of engagement.
The research is based on primary data collected via semi-structured formal interviews in three of the largest sugar communities in Queensland, Australia where grounded theory analysis is used in an inductive search for categories, patterns and themes. The sample includes both individuals and organisations connected with the sugar industry in the selected localities. Some of the themes explored are the effectiveness of community leadership, the attitudes, perceptions and opinions of the different segments of the sugar industry, role of women and their engagement in the restructuring process, inter-community conflict and its impact on community engagement.

This paper explores social and community impact of change, the role of institutions in promoting community engagement and the capacity of these communities to engage in change. It suggests there are different and occasionally conflicting economic, social and environmental conditions for organisational change that impact on community engagement and therefore strategies must vary from one community to another.

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