Rate My Professor Charles Roche

Dr Charles Roche serves as Lecturer in Sustainability and Development within the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Murdoch University. He earned his PhD in Global Studies from the same institution in 2020, with a doctoral thesis entitled "From hedonistic extraction to human flourishing: applying disruptive and participatory concepts for transformative change." Roche's extensive career spans over 25 years in environmental and social advocacy. From 1998 to 2008, he worked as a community advocate with civil society organisations addressing biodiversity loss and extractive industry impacts. Since 2008, he has been the Executive Director of the Mineral Policy Institute, an independent think tank supporting mining-affected communities and promoting reforms in extractive sector policy, law, and practice. His transition to academia in 2024 allows him to integrate practical experience with scholarly inquiry into sustainability and development.

Roche's research focuses on mining legacies, social and environmental impacts of extractive industries, just energy and mineral transitions, impact assessment, and human flourishing in resource-dependent communities, particularly in Papua New Guinea and Australia. His scholarship emphasizes equity, justice, capabilities, and pluriversal worldviews bridging human and ecological relations. Key publications include "Mine Tailings Storage: Safety is No Accident: a Rapid Response Assessment" (2017, with K. Thygesen and E. Baker, 210 citations), "Mining legacies—Understanding life-of-mine across time and space" (2014, with M. Pepper and G.M. Mudd, 55 citations), "Mining in Papua New Guinea: A complex story of trends, impacts and governance" (2020, Science of the Total Environment, 50 citations), "A mining legacies lens: from externalities to wellbeing in extractive industries" (2021, 21 citations), and "Ground Truths: Taking Responsibility for Australia’s Mining Legacies" (2016, with S. Judd, 34 citations). Roche contributes to public discourse via The Conversation and the Murdoch University-Mineral Policy Institute Just Transitions Collaboration, advancing responsible extractive practices.