2.1 Terms of Reference
On 25 June 2007, the former Australian Government established the NTER Taskforce in the wake of the Little Children are Sacred Report.1
The NTER Taskforce's objective is to oversight the response to deal with child neglect and family violence in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.
The NTER Taskforce's terms of reference are:
- Provide expert advice to the Australian Government on the implementation of the emergency response.
- Provide oversight of the NTER Operations Centre.
- Promote public understanding of the issues involved.
- Alert government to current and emerging issues that relate directly to the implementation of the response.
- Report to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs on the progress of the response.
The Taskforce has been in operation since June 2007 and is supported by full-time administrative and field staff. Its operational base was initially in Alice Springs and is now in Darwin. The NTER Taskforce has been chaired by Dr Sue Gordon and Major General Dave Chalmers is the Operational Commander of the NTER Operations Centre.
2.2 Members
Taskforce members have experience in areas such as health, government, the law, education and business. Biographical profiles of current members are at Appendix A.
At 30 June 2008, the membership of the NTER Taskforce is as follows:
- Dr Sue Gordon AM (Chair);
- Major General Dave Chalmers AO, CSC (Operational Commander);
- Dr Bill Glasson AO;
- Mr Roger Corbett AO;
- Mrs Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann AM;
- Mr Terry Moran AO; and
- Mr Mike Burgess.
Previous members of the NTER Taskforce are:
- Mr John Reeves QC, from 25 June 2007 until October 2007, when he resigned due to the announcement of his appointment as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia. Mr Reeves was not replaced on the Taskforce.
- Dr Peter Shergold AC, from 25 June 2007 until 8 February 2008, when he ceased being Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Dr Shergold's position on the Taskforce was filled by Mr Terry Moran AO.
- Mr Paul Tyrrell, from 25 June 2007 until 31 January 2008, when he retired as Chief Executive of the Northern Territory Chief Minister's Department. Mr Tyrrell's position on the Taskforce was filled by Mr Mike Burgess.
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2.3 Activities of the NTER Taskforce
Consistent with the NTER Taskforce's Terms of Reference, Taskforce members have provided advice to the Australian Government, overseen the work of the NTER Operations Centre, and promoted public understanding of the NTER. The Taskforce has undertaken its work through holding meetings of the NTER Taskforce; managing the Operations Centre through Major General Chalmers; visiting communities; and talking to many people including individuals, community leaders, organisations, bureaucrats and Ministers.
2.3.1 Meetings
Between June 2007 and June 2008, NTER Taskforce members have met twelve times. Information about the dates, locations, and attendance for each of these meetings is at Appendix B.
Two meetings were teleconferences while the other ten saw the members brought together in various locations: Brisbane, Canberra, Alice Springs and Darwin. At each meeting, presentations were made by relevant senior officials on various subjects related to the NTER, including child protection, health, housing, employment, welfare reform, land issues and community stores.
2.3.2 NTER Taskforce's Advice to the Government
Consistent with Terms of Reference 1, 4 and 5, the NTER Taskforce has provided advice to the Australian Government on the implementation of the NTER and related issues, following each meeting of the NTER Taskforce.
In addition, members of the Taskforce have briefed the Minister on various issues in person, in writing and by telephone.
2.3.3 Oversight of the Operations Centre
Consistent with Terms of Reference 2 and 4, Major General Chalmers's role as Operational Commander is crucial in managing the roll-out of the emergency response.
Major General Chalmers and his team at the Operations Centre are responsible for ensuring rapid, coherent and coordinated on-the-ground rollout of the response and operational effort. This includes:
- community engagement so that communities know what is happening and why;
- data gathering and monitoring including identification of communities in critical situations;
- coordinated delivery of resources and activities such as the deployment of child health check teams and commencement of income management in communities;
- the setting up, appointment and support of Government Business Managers; and
- liaison with the Australian Government, the Northern Territory Government and other state authorities to provide the best support on the ground.
The Operational Commander keeps other Taskforce members and the Minister informed about issues that may impact on the overall success of the implementation of the NTER. This is done through emailing a weekly situation report to other Taskforce members; providing an update to each NTER Taskforce meeting; and working closely with the Chair and the Minister.
The Operations Centre is made-up from staff seconded from 8 Australian and Northern Territory Government agencies and at its peak had a total of 44 staff.
2.3.4 Promoting Public Understanding
Consistent with Term of Reference 3, the NTER Taskforce Chair, the Operational Commander and other members of the Taskforce have undertaken a number of activities to assist with promoting public understanding of the intervention measures. These have included visiting affected communities, addressing various forums, using external networks, and engaging with the media.
Community visits
In addition to visits by teams from the Operations Centre, Dr Gordon, Major General Chalmers and other members of the NTER Taskforce have visited remote Northern Territory communities jointly and separately.
By 30 June 2008, Dr Gordon will have visited 46 of the communities affected by the NTER, some more than once. She has also visited a number of the town camps in Alice Springs, Darwin, Tennant Creek and Katherine.
Major General Chalmers has visited 51 of the communities as well as several town camps in Alice Springs, Darwin, Katherine and Tennant Creek.
Other Taskforce members have made individual visits to a number of the prescribed communities.
As a group, the Taskforce has visited the following communities:
| Date |
Area |
| 16 July 2007 |
Titjikala |
| 22-24 October 2007 |
Canteen Creek, Galiwinku, Ngukurr, Ramingining, Robinson River and Titjikala |
| 12 March 2008 |
Barunga and Manyallaluk |
| 7 April 2008 |
Galiwinku |
| 22 May 2008 |
Nguiu |
When NTER Taskforce members met with communities, the role of the Taskforce, the various measures to be implemented and how they might affect people were explained. Community visits also provided invaluable opportunities to hear first hand from men and women in individual communities.
Dr Gordon has also held a number of meetings to focus on child protection matters with women in the communities she has visited, including Milikipati (Melville Island), Titjikala, Ntaria (Hermannsburg), Papunya, Imanpa, Mutitjulu, Kaltukatjara (Docker River), Apatula (Finke), Yirrkala, Belyuen, Beswick and Yuendumu.
Engagement with external organisations
While Dr Gordon and Major General Chalmers have been working full-time on the NTER, other Taskforce members have also engaged with external organisations to promote understanding of the NTER, through formal and informal networks:
- Mr John Reeves was able to use his contacts within the legal profession to good effect while he was a member;
- Dr Glasson is a member of the Regional Telecommunication Independent Review Committee, co-chair of the Northern Territory Emergency Response Health Expert Panel and has well-established networks in the medical profession;
- Mrs Ungunmerr-Baumann is a member of the Northern Territory Indigenous Education Council and has well-established networks in the education sector and among other Indigenous people in the Northern Territory;
- Mr Corbett is a member of the Board of Directors of Outback Stores and has well-established networks in the business sector both nationally and internationally; and
- Dr Shergold, Mr Tyrell, Mr Moran and Mr Burgess have used their respective positions within the Australian and Northern Territory government bureaucracies to ensure that policies and implementation of the NTER are well coordinated across governments.
A detailed list of Dr Gordon's engagements and activities is located at Appendix C.
Media
Over the course of the year, Dr Gordon and Major General Chalmers have taken part in various media interviews on all issues surrounding the work of the NTER. A detailed list of Dr Gordon's media engagements can be found at Appendix D. A detailed list of Major General Chalmers's media engagements can be found at Appendix E.
Dr Glasson has participated in some media interviews related to the NTER, particularly related to health issues.
Dr Gordon and Mrs Ungunmerr-Baumann have also featured in community announcements which have aired on local radio stations in the Northern Territory.
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