From June to late August 2009, the Australian Government consulted with Indigenous people in the Northern Territory about future directions for the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER).
In its interim response to the NTER Review, the Government said it would introduce legislation into the Parliament in the Spring sittings of 2009 to remove the provisions in the current NTER Acts that exclude the operation of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA).
On 21 May 2009 the Government released a discussion paper; setting out proposals for the measures affected by the RDA as a starting point for discussion.
The specific measures under discussion were:
- income management
- alcohol bans
- prohibited material, including the audit of publicly funded computers
- five-year leases
- community stores' licensing and
- the powers of the Australian Crime Commission.
The consultations involved all communities and town camps affected by the NTER. There were been more than 500 community consultations as well as workshops with regional leaders and Indigenous organisations in the Northern Territory.
The Report on the NTER Redesign Consultations was released on 23 November 2009.
More details about the consultation process are provided here. An independent report on the consultation process is also available.
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.