The Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) is a set of measures designed to protect children, make communities safe and build a better future for people living in Indigenous communities and town camps in the Northern Territory.
The NTER was announced by the former Australian Government in June 2007 in response to a recommendation of the Little Children are Sacred report which brought national attention to evidence of child abuse in the Northern Territory’s Indigenous communities.
The current Australian Government initiated a comprehensive and independent review in June 2008 which provided its report in October 2008.
The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs announced the Government’s interim response to the review on 23 October 2008.
On 21 May 2009 the Government released its final response to the NTER Review in a joint announcement with the Northern Territory Government. The Closing the Gap in the Northern Territory National Partnership Agreement continues funding for measures begun under the NTER, but aims to ensure the benefits are sustainable and driven by community aspirations.
On the same day the Government released a paper, Future Directions for the Northern Territory Emergency Response, as a starting point for discussions on how certain measures could be changed, where necessary, in the context of the Government’s commitment to make the NTER subject to the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.
The Government consulted widely with Indigenous people in the Northern Territory between June and August 2009 on the measures affected the RDA.
The Report on the NTER Redesign Consultations was released on 23 November 2009.
The Policy Statement: Landmark Reform to the Welfare System, Reinstatement of the Racial Discrimination Act and Strengthening of the Northern Territory Emergency Response was released on 24 November 2009.