NTER Review

The Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) Review Board conducted an independent and transparent review of the NTER to assess whether the measures have been effective and their impact on individuals and communities.

The review was announced on 6 June 2008 and the Review Board Report released on 13 October 2008. The Government announced an interim response to the report on 23 October 2008.

The three-person board was:

• Mr Peter Yu (chair), former chair of the Halls Creek Project Management Committee, Western Australia
• Ms Marcia Ella Duncan, former chair of the New South Wales Aboriginal Child Sexual Assault Taskforce
• Mr Bill Gray AM, former Australian Electoral Commissioner.

The Australian Government asked the board to:

• examine evidence and assess the overall progress of the NTER 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
• consider what is and isn’t working and whether the current set of NTER measures will deliver the intended results, whether any unintended consequences have emerged, and whether other measures should be developed
• in relation to each NTER measure, make an assessment of its effects to date, and recommend any changes to improve each measure and monitor performance.

An independent expert group supported the Review Board:

• Donna Ah Chee, deputy director, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress
• Michael Berto, CEO, Roper Gulf Shire Council and chair, Northern Territory Indigenous Housing Advisory Board
• Vicki Gillick, coordinator, Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council
• Ronald Lami Lami, chair, West Arnhem Shire Transition Committee
• Mavis Malbunka, vice-president, Ntaria (Hermannsburg) Council
• Ann Rebgetz, co-principal, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School, Wadeye
• David Ross, director, Central Land Council
• Dr John Taylor, deputy director, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), Australian National University
• Dr Mark Wenitong, senior medical officer at Apunipima Cape York Health Council
• Neil Westbury, CAEPR associate and former senior public servant.

More information on the NTER review can be found at this website.