Dr John Burton has 30 years of research experience on the social impacts of resource extraction, including a cumulative four and a half years of consultancy fieldwork at extractive industry sites in PNG, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and West Papua, as a private consultant, as a research fellow at the Australian National University, and in his last position at Divine Word University in PNG, on sites operated by BHP, Rio Tinto, Newcrest and Freeport McMoRan, among others.

In addition to his work on extractives, Dr Burton has practised as a Native Title anthropologist in Australia for 20 years. He was Senior Anthropologist in the Torres Strait Regional Authority, 2001-2004, and have contributed to a range of successful Native Title determinations for the Jirrbal, Babaram, Muluridji, Warrungu and other peoples in North Queensland (2005-2019).