Accounting for the Right to Water: The Great Artesian Basin and Olympic Dam Mine

Water is a scarce resource in Australia, therefore the significant use of groundwater from the Great Artesian Basin by the mining industry is inevitably controversial. This thesis examines one such water dispute that emanated from BHP Billiton Olympic Dam Corporation Pty Ltd’s (BHP OD) expansion and the associated water related risks. Therefore, it is concerned with the politicised control of the Australia’s largest groundwater resource arising from the Australia’s largest multi-mineral mine against the broad backdrop of water scarcity. In particular, the thesis highlights the culturally constructed meanings of risk in a contested domain of accounting and accountability.