Pastoralism’s distributive ruse: Extractivism, financialization, Indigenous labour and a rightful share in Northern Australia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The beef industrial complex continues to exclude Indigenous people via land tenure regimes and management practices. Focused on the Kimberley region of Northern Australia, in this paper I explore the brutal history of pastoralism and its financialization, and question how it has avoided the entailments to Indigenous people of another extractive industry, mining. I argue ‘Indigenous economic sovereignty’ and a ‘rightful share’ are useful concepts for considering how the pastoral industry might achieve a more just coexistence with Indigenous people.