Description

The Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER), otherwise known as the ‘Intervention’, was announced on 21 June 2007 by the former Liberal Government, and received in principle bipartisan support from the then Leader of the Opposition. The immediate aims of the NTER measures were to protect children and make communities safe. In the longer term they were designed to create a better future for Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. On 6 June 2008 the Rudd Labor Government appointed the Review Board to conduct an independent and transparent review of the first 12 months of the NTER to assess its progress in improving the safety and wellbeing of children and laying the basis for a sustainable and better future for residents of remote communities in the Northern Territory. From early July until late August 2008 the Board travelled throughout the Northern Territory for community and other consultations, visiting 31 Aboriginal communities and speaking with representatives of 56 communities, together with officials of numerous government and service delivery agencies. Over 200 public submissions were received. High value was placed on consulting with Aboriginal people directly affected by the Intervention. The absence of a sound data baseline as a platform for evaluation gave greater weight to the consultations and discussions in assessing the impacts of the various NTER measures. This is the report of their review.