Chinese transnational investment in Australia: a case study of insider/outsider relations

Forbes-Mewett, Helen; Nyland, Chris; Thomson, Stanley Bruce

Chinese transnational investment in Australia: a case study of insider/outsider relations

Author

Forbes-Mewett, Helen

Nyland, Chris

Thomson, Stanley Bruce

Date

2013

Keywords

insider/outsider, new racism, transnational investment, TNC

Abstract (summary)

Against the backdrop of a nation where more than a third of the population is concerned about cultural differences threatening societal harmony, we explore community responses to a proposed development by a Chinese transnational company. An alumina refinery was to be built in Utopia, a small coastal town in North Queensland, Australia. Framed within the dimensions of Elias and Scotson’s notion of established and outsider relations, we reveal the complexities of a community that consisted largely of a group of long-term residents (the Established) and a newer group who have lived in the town for periods up to three years (the Entrepreneurs). Together they faced the prospect of another group moving into the community-the Chinese. The concerns of the community related to assimilation, employment and the natural environment revealing cultural issues that are the hallmark of new racism.

Publication Information

Forbes-Mewett, Helen, Chris Nyland, & Bruce Thomson. "Chinese Transnational Investment in Australia: A Case Study of Insider/Outsider Relations." Journal of Intercultural Studies 34, no. 1 (2013), 73-88. doi:10.1080/07256868.2013.751902.