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Chapter 2 - Assessment of key elements

Index

Introduction

The NTER is made up of a series of initiatives, referred to as 'measures'. The measures were divided into a series of 'sub-measures' which in effect determined the activities for the NTER.

These were 'rolled out' at different times and in different locations during the course of the 12-month period under review.

The Terms of Reference require the Review Board to consider and comment on the implementation of the measures and to come to a view about whether they are working or not and, if not, to advise on whether there are better ways of working to address the circumstances of remote communities.

This chapter addresses the seven measures, their impact on the local communities, the strengths and weaknesses of the initiatives and whether government should consider alternatives in pursuit of its objectives to improve the protection of children and advance the wellbeing of Aboriginal families and communities in the Northern Territory.

2.1 Measure 1: Welfare reform and employment

The Welfare reform and employment measure consists of five sub-measures:

  1. Income management and community stores
  2. Increased participation opportunities for people on income support in remote communities
  3. CDEP transition to jobs and employment services
  4. Active school participation
  5. Community employment brokers.

A detailed description of each sub-measure is provided in Appendix 11.

Income management

Income management has become synonymous with the NTER and is the most widely recognised measure. It has given rise to a range of often competing views about its impact and value for those who have been directly affected by it—views that have been expressed with considerable passion.

Income management has had a direct and profound impact on the lives of over 13,300 individuals who were subject to the scheme on 30 June 2008, living in 53 communities within prescribed areas and in 46 town camps located in major centres.

The people to whom the scheme applies were not consulted about it nor did they consent to the income management regime before or during its roll-out. The relevant provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 which protect other Australians from racial discrimination were deliberately rendered inoperative under the NTER legislation for those people living in the prescribed communities and town camps, almost all of whom are Aboriginal.

The application of income management was not based on any assessment of a person's capacity to properly meet their family responsibilities. Nor was there any opportunity extended to those living in the affected communities to negotiate their way out of the imposed regulation of their income, if they could demonstrate their ability to responsibly manage their income. The only determinant was whether an individual lived in a prescribed area on 21 June 2007.

The blanket imposition of compulsory income management across Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory has resulted in widespread disillusionment, resentment and anger in a significant segment of the Indigenous community.

The indignation and anger expressed about the process has been compounded by the way in which the income management procedures were implemented.

People were required to master new, complex and often changing procedures with a minimum of information or explanation. This led to confusion and anxiety, especially because the vast majority of recipients speak English as a second or third language.

The complaints received by the Commonwealth Ombudsman about income management reflect these concerns.

Some Aboriginal people living or shopping in the major regional centres (in Darwin and Alice Springs especially) have suffered frustration, embarrassment, humiliation and overt racism because of the difficulties associated with acquiring and using store cards.

These major changes were compounded by the removal and then reinstatement of CDEP which resulted in an uncertainty or reduction of income for many individuals.

Despite all of the above, many people with whom the Board came into contact believed that income management did provide a new opportunity to manage their income and family budgets in a way that they wanted to see continue.

The testimony of many Aboriginal people, especially women, along with the observations of local clinicians, school teachers and storekeepers, supports the view that a substantial number of families and children have benefited from income management. The Board was told that greater quantities and better quality of food was being bought at community stores and that the sale of tobacco decreased.

One of the benefits attributed to income management was that it enables some individuals such as pensioners and women to avoid or limit 'humbugging'.

The Board was also given many examples of people managing their income and saving for whitegoods and the like, which they had not done previously.

The most common view expressed in consultations, however, was that if people wanted to take advantage of a voluntary income management scheme they should be allowed to do so. There was also general support for the notion that income management should be made compulsory for those who had demonstrated in some way that they were not meeting their family or community responsibilities, especially if the wellbeing of children was at risk or if alcohol and drugs were being abused to the detriment of the community.

Some communities suggested that a community-based committee involving community representatives along with local health clinicians, police, child protection officers and teachers would be able to identify such people.

However, it was emphasised that income management should be seen as only one element of a suite of measures which should include financial literacy, banking, home management and child welfare and protection services designed and implemented in partnership with the communities.

Community stores

The NTER legislation provides for the licensing of 'community stores'.

The licensing regime attempts to address long standing concerns expressed over many decades about the quality of services provided by many community stores and the integrity of their financial management. Poor quality food, limited ranges and exorbitant prices have characterised many stores in many communities.

While the Board was impressed with the standards of some stores, others were identified as having many of the characteristics that the licensing system was designed to address—high prices, limited range, poor quality and questionable governance arrangements.

The Board saw some obvious and significant disparity between the standard of stores we were able to visit. We believe a number of communities are seriously disadvantaged by the poor standards of their local stores, notwithstanding that those stores may have been licensed.

The Board holds the strong view that where people have no option but to spend a major portion of their income at specific outlets, there is a heavy responsibility upon the government to ensure that those outlets operate to the appropriate standards endorsed by the parliament.

Store cards

The Board also had its attention drawn to the security status of store cards issued by Centrelink under the auspices of income management. Store cards are used in the regional centres, primarily at Coles, Woolworths or Kmart.

Store cards issued for these outlets do not carry any security provisions which would limit their use to the authorised welfare recipient. As a consequence the Board was given many oral examples of the way in which store cards had been misused and exchanged for cash, all of which undermines the intention of the income management scheme.

In many instances the cards were not redeemed for their full amount and many customers, through lack of understanding, did not take advantage of their full entitlement.

The government has acknowledged the problems associated with the card system and is now implementing the BasicsCard, which is designed to be used as an EFTPOS card and can be used at a wider range of retailers. The Board continues to have doubts about the security provisions of the BasicsCard, as it relies primarily on a pin number, which are regularly exchanged between family members or can be extracted under duress. The Board believes that a photograph of the kind used on the ALPA store cards provide a more appropriate level of security and suggests the government give due consideration to upgrading the security level of the BasicsCard.

CDEP transition to jobs and employment services

One of the major factors contributing to the complexity of change in the first 12 months of the Intervention has been the turning off—and then turning on—of CDEP. Further, CDEP was reinstated in a different form.

While policy makers and social researchers will continue to engage in a debate about the place and value of CDEP in any future welfare reform agenda, the Board would strongly suggest that for many Aboriginal people, CDEP currently represents the only opportunity to obtain work in which they can achieve a sense of satisfaction in contributing to the wellbeing of their communities.

As with any program, the quality of the CDEP outcomes will depend on the competence and professionalism of those responsible for implementing it and the effectiveness of the mechanisms put in place to monitor its administration.

CDEP should incorporate relevant training components to address the minimal literacy and numeracy levels of most participants, which diminish their job readiness, and provide extra skills to establish a practical basis for moving to full jobs when opportunities arise.

The single most effective step taken over the past 12 months to secure non-CDEP employment for the Aboriginal residents of the communities associated with the NTER, has been the decision by the Australian and Northern Territory Governments, along with the new shire councils, to discontinue subsidising their services with CDEP and paying full wages with full entitlements to their employees.

This step alone has earmarked funding for the transition from CDEP to 1536 jobs in Australian Government funded service delivery positions and 400 in Northern Territory Government positions.

By June 2008 former CDEP workers had taken up just over two-thirds of these jobs (1300). The various programs supporting these initiatives are commended and should be continued.

The Job Network services

The Board cannot find any convincing evidence that the use of Job Network Providers has resulted in any discernable improvement in placing people into jobs in Aboriginal communities.

Indeed, most people living and operating in the communities we visited were strongly critical of the lack of service provided by Job Network Providers and confusion with the multiple providers operating under the employment services system.

Aboriginal residents and others seriously questioned the worth of the service or any suggestion that jobs were being created and filled by local people.

Most felt that the only service provided was filling out the forms associated with meeting the requirements of the Work for the Dole scheme to ensure participants continued to receive payments. People also criticised the fly-in fly-out approach to delivering the service, resulting in only the most superficial and inadequate knowledge of the potential for work creation in communities.

Community Employment Brokers

The duty statement for Community Employment Brokers (in Appendix 12) describes them as being 'placed throughout Northern Territory communities to help ensure DEEWR programs and services are delivered effectively within each community'.

At 15 September 2008 there were 30 CEBs in place servicing 55 communities and associated outstations and two town camp regions in the Northern Territory.

As was the case with the Job Network Providers, the Community Employment Brokers were the subject of some strident criticisms by Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal stakeholders alike. People questioned the role of the CEBs and queried whether they could make a real difference to job availability in communities. Our own endeavours to elicit on the ground views from the CEBs in the communities did little to clarify their specific capacities or give us confidence in their abilities to deliver outcomes of benefit to the communities.

There is a high degree of scepticism within the communities we visited about the role of CEBs and the reliability of figures submitted. We came to the view that the role and worth of the CEB position was seriously questioned in enough communities to warrant an early reconsideration of the way in which a potentially valuable resource can be better aligned to the needs of the community.

Recommendations on Welfare reform and employment

Income management

Community stores

Employment

2.2 Measure 2: Law and order

The Law and order measure consists of seven sub-measures:

  1. Alcohol, drugs and pornography
  2. Increased police presence in communities
  3. National Indigenous Intelligence Taskforce
  4. Child Abuse Desk
  5. Northern Territory Aboriginal Interpreter Services
  6. Expansion of Northern Territory night patrol services
  7. Additional legal services for Indigenous Australians.

A detailed description of each sub-measure is provided in Appendix 11.

Alcohol, drugs and pornography

Alcohol and drugs

The Little Children are Sacred report described alcohol as 'the gravest and fastest growing threat to the safety of Aboriginal children'. It found a strong association between substance abuse, particularly alcohol, and the sexual abuse of children.

Among other things, the NTER introduced a general ban on the possession, transportation, sale and consumption of alcohol in prescribed areas1, and modified Northern Territory legislation relating to alcohol restrictions and police powers regarding the apprehension of intoxicated people.2

Before the NTER, legislation and other initiatives such as dry areas and alcohol management plans were already in place. According to the Northern Territory Government submission to the Review, the NTER legislation overlaid the Northern Territory Liquor Act resulting in confusion and frustration at poorly targeted and ineffective restrictions.3

Numerous submissions report that large numbers of people have continued to drink outside the prescribed areas. Some people from remote communities have travelled into larger regional towns to escape the restrictions on drinking, bringing their families with them. This has resulted in increased demand on shelters and community organisations to care for women and children when the money runs out.4

Some communities have also expressed increased safety concerns for children when parents are moving further away to drink and leaving their children for longer periods. In some instances parents are taking their children with them to unsafe drinking areas.

Other submissions report that income management has had more impact on reducing alcohol consumption than the alcohol restrictions, by requiring a proportion of income be spent on food and essentials and directed towards children.

There is also anecdotal evidence that the Commonwealth declaration of prescribed communities has resulted in drinking camps shifting further away from community boundaries (as the prescribed areas are larger than the communities themselves), with some communities welcoming the resulting reduction in noise and anti-social behaviour.

In many communities the Board heard that an increase in illicit drug use, especially cannabis had gone hand in hand with the stronger restrictions on alcohol supply and carriage, and urged that specific strategies dealing with the supply and use of illicit drugs also be put in place. Some people commented that cannabis is the 'new currency' in Aboriginal communities and concerns about increasing mental health problems are rising.

Various submissions have highlighted the importance of simultaneous strategies of supply, demand and harm reduction and claim that the NTER measures are not enough to effectively deal with drug and alcohol use and its impact on community safety and wellbeing.

Despite the shortcomings of the current legislative arrangements restricting the supply of alcohol to remote communities in the Northern Territory, the Board believes that those restrictions should remain in place.

We understand 12 new inspectors, eight funded by the Commonwealth and four by the Northern Territory Government, were employed for regional and remote work. This is an important complementary measure to a police presence and should assist with enforcement.

In parallel with the current restrictions greater support should be given to people through supply, demand and harm reduction strategies.

The Board is not convinced there is any evidence to indicate that the NTER requirement for a person to show identification when buying $100 or more of takeaway alcohol is effective or capable of being monitored in a way that enables action to be taken. In fact it is unclear how this particular part of the measure was intended to achieve a result. Consideration might be given to a more workable alternative to achieve the results originally intended.

Pornography

The Little Children are Sacred report referred to community complaints, and expressed concern, about children being exposed to pornography.

The Northern Territory Police and Northern Territory Government report that the legislative changes about pornography offences introduced as part of the NTER have been difficult to enforce. At 14 May 2008 five offences have been referred from the Northern Territory Police. By that date, only one matter had gone to court. The defendant pleaded guilty and was fined $500.5

The first audit of publicly funded computers in the Northern Territory took place on 2 June 2008 with 264 organisations contacted.

It has been reported to the Board that the software required to run the audit was, in some cases, not compatible with computer hardware. This caused a delay in affected areas in complying with the timeframes to complete this measure.

Signs

The alcohol and pornography signs attracted a lot of comment from community members who said that while they may deter visitors from bringing alcohol and pornography into communities, they did not deter locals and had the effect of shaming and labelling Aboriginal people as alcoholics and paedophiles.

In addition, community members stated that the information displayed on the signs was complex and made little, if any, sense to people for whom English is a second or third language.

Comments were made to the Board about the significant cost involved in designing and erecting the initial signage and then having to replace it with smaller less detailed signs, funding that could have been better used had some discussion occurred with the communities first.

Increased police presence in communities

Police presence

Policing levels in Northern Territory communities have been increased.

Before the NTER, 38 police stations serviced Northern Territory remote communities. Between July 2007 and February 2008 18 additional temporary police stations were built under the auspices of Taskforce THEMIS in the NTER communities. Since end June 2007 an additional 51 police (33 Australian Federal Police and interstate police and 18 Northern Territory Police) in 18 remote communities have been deployed.

The periods of deployment for Australian Federal Police and interstate police were for up to six months. State and AFP officers deployed to the Northern Territory as part of the NTER are under the operational control of the Northern Territory Police Commissioner. As interstate police have completed deployment, they have been replaced by AFP police who are progressively building up to a total commitment of 66 officers.

Numerous submissions from Aboriginal community organisations and service providers in remote communities indicate that the additional police are needed and welcomed. The Northern Territory Government said in its submission that 'there is clear evidence that communities are safer'.6

Submissions also pointed to the need for permanent policing in communities and to provide policing in those larger communities that do not yet have a permanent police presence. There was a consistent view expressed that ongoing policing arrangements needed to be normalised, with the Northern Territory police officers undertaking policing in remote communities in the medium to longer term. The resourcing of future remote policing also needs to be addressed. There was a clear preference in communities for police to be stationed on an ongoing rather than temporary fly-in fly-out basis.

The Board observed, even in those locations where there is a police presence, the current number of police in a community (often two members) is not enough to provide a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week service.

The Board was given some information on the key criteria used to determine the locations of the new THEMIS police stations, which included issues such as the existing picture of criminality, any prior needs assessment and the strategic importance of the location.

Nonetheless, there appear to be significant inconsistencies regarding the allocation of police. For example, Tennant Creek, a town with a population of about 33007, has 39 police officers (one police officer to 85 people), compared to Wadeye with a population of approx 22208 which has seven police (one police officer to 317 people) and Maningrida, with a population of approx 30009, which has two police officers (one police to 1500 people).

Community engagement

One of the key strategies of the THEMIS Taskforce police has been to gain the confidence of the community through community engagement activities, both formal and informal, for example, establishing football competitions and a bicycle road safety program.

While being welcomed by Aboriginal communities, it has also been reported to the Board that in some areas local police practices have not taken into account Aboriginal cultural strengths.

In one community, elders told the Board they would prefer senior community members to deal with minor disturbances and leave the police to respond when a matter is beyond the capacity of the local community.

Other communities reported inappropriate police responses including young women reporting domestic violence being 'interrogated' by police about their sexual history and some officers overly focused on driving and licensing offences.

The Northern Territory Police indicated to the Board that all new police, including those from other jurisdictions and the AFP, undergo an orientation program before being placed in a remote Aboriginal community.

Feedback from some police members indicated they felt unprepared. One AFP officer said the cultural complexity of working in a remote Aboriginal community was so complex that he felt his international experiences did not compare with or prepare him for his Aboriginal community experience. He went on to add that the cultural awareness training he had received in preparation for this domestic posting was not adequate.

Both police and communities acknowledged the need to build respect and cultural sensitivity, a deeper understanding of the language, etiquette and cultural world view of local people. A stronger strategic emphasis on critical issues such as child and family safety and wellbeing, coupled with more consistent community policing practices, is also required.

Safer communities

Police statistics on communities associated with the NTER are set out in Appendix 13.

Expert advice to the Board is that it is too early to draw any significant conclusions from this data. For example, while there are substantial increases in incidents recorded in communities with new police stations, the only empirical conclusion that can be drawn from this data is that a police station is now operating and that crime is being reported—it does not provide a measure of the actual level of crime before and after the establishment of the station.

Other sources, primarily from service providers, indicate significant changes in the reporting and/or investigation of domestic violence.

National Indigenous Intelligence Taskforce (NIITF)

The NIITF was set up, ahead of the NTER, mainly as an intelligence gathering and data sharing body, with links to key law enforcement agencies and relevant government departments. The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) has responsibility for this initiative.

NIITF operations include a coordinated program of community visits, undertaken in close consultation with local authorities and organisations. Through this approach the NIITF has established a comprehensive intelligence collection capability to support its analysis and intelligence assessments work and advice to government.

The ACC is developing a stronger understanding of violence in Aboriginal communities, particularly family violence. Importantly, research undertaken by the ACC has identified a number of systemic issues impeding the delivery of justice and victim support services including the sharing of victim and offender data allowing risks to victims to be identified, assessed and responded to, and for the identification and tracking of repeat offenders.

Northern Territory Aboriginal Interpreter Service (NTAIDA)

The NTAIS is a Northern Territory Government service jointly funded by the Australian and Northern Territory Governments, to provide Aboriginal people and relevant service providers with access to interpreters for legal assistance within the judicial system.

The NTAIS has conducted several recruitment drives and recruited additional staff to assist with the demanding schedule as a consequence of the NTER.

NTAIS has reported a significant increase in the use of interpreters, and additional funding of $800,000 was allocated for 2008–09 in recognition of the continued growing demand for interpreters as a result of the NTER.

To date, the increase in workload has primarily been as a result of income management.

In its oral submission to the Board, the NTAIS expressed concern about being under-used by all government agencies. The NTAIS also spoke about the need for services to develop expertise in using interpreters effectively and developing stronger understanding of the nuances of Aboriginal language and communication styles.

The NTAIS has a range of challenges to overcome to meet the increased demand for interpreters and translators as a result of the NTER. These include recruitment and retention of interpreters, the lack of literacy and numeracy skills of potential interpreters, the need for accredited interpreters for legal proceedings, and the need for interpreting to be viewed as a whole-of-government priority.

Expansion of Northern Territory night patrol services

The aim of Northern Territory night patrol services is to help communities deal with violence and people at risk of harm.

Night patrols are planned for all 73 communities targeted by the NTER.

This required establishing an extra 50 night patrols. In 2007–08 $11.048 million was appropriated for night patrol services, with $8.486 million of that to extend the night patrol program to all 73 communities. The Board was advised that at 15 August 2008 46 night patrols were operating in communities with 27 more in the process of being set up.10

The Federal Attorney-General's Department has negotiated funding agreements with the local government shire councils to manage night patrol services.

The Board was told the establishment of night patrols had been delayed in some communities because of difficulty in recruiting staff due to uncertainty about the future of CDEP, delays in obtaining suitable night patrol vehicles and lack of existing infrastructure within communities for night patrol services.

Critical to the success of night patrols will be the development of strong and effective mechanisms to secure initial and ongoing community control or management, as well as the development and implementation of protocols to guide service delivery with other key services such as police, safe houses and cooling off houses.

As the night patrol services measure is still being rolled out, it is not possible to make a substantive assessment of its impact.

The Board has noted, however, that an evaluation of the expanded night patrol services in the Northern Territory in 2007–08 by the Attorney-General's Department and the service providers is planned to be undertaken in the 2008–09 financial year. It is understood the evaluation will contribute to further risk identification, capacity building and evidence to improve the effectiveness of night patrol services.

Additional legal services for Indigenous Australians

The Australian Government has provided an additional $2 million in 2008–09 to Indigenous legal aid service providers to employ lawyers and field officers to address the expected demand arising from the NTER.

The NTER, especially the increased police presence, appears to have had a flow-on effect to the justice system and the corrections system. In 2007–08 criminal listings in the Magistrates Court rose by 12 per cent throughout the Territory over the previous year. There was also a 15 per cent increase in listings in the Alice Springs region. Given that THEMIS stations were first established there, the Alice Springs figures may give a good indication of the overall increase. In addition, the number of circuit court days increased by 16 per cent over the previous year.11

It is not easy to estimate what proportion of the increase in court activity is attributable to the NTER. Implementation of alcohol and drug diversionary programs has almost certainly contributed to the increase in court listings as well.12

The Board is aware the anticipated increase in prosecution of child sex offences has not occurred. Services do report rises in prosecutions of teenagers for under-age consensual sex cases and increased prosecutions by police of traffic offence matters.

Alcohol management issues have demanded substantial extra services—mainly explaining to clients how the laws about alcohol management have changed and that the police have additional powers which cannot be challenged.

Services have reported increasing demand for legal assistance for welfare rights issues as a result of the new income management arrangements.

The Board notes that the Attorney-General's Department is considering the possible extension of outreach service visits to regional and remote Indigenous communities to provide community legal education and legal assistance services in line with identified community needs.

Recommendations on Law and order

Alcohol, drugs and pornography

Police

Additional legal services for Indigenous Australians

Aboriginal Interpreter Services

2.3 Measure 3: Enhancing education

The Enhancing education measure consists of five sub-measures:

  1. Additional classrooms
  2. Accelerated literacy program
  3. School nutrition program
  4. Volunteer teacher initiative
  5. Quality teaching package.

A detailed description of each sub-measure is provided in Appendix 11.

The Board was advised that in June 2007 approximately 8000 children were enrolled in 69 schools in the 73 NTER communities. At least 2500 of these children were not attending school regularly. As many as 2000 children of school age were not enrolled in education.13

The education enhancement initiatives were intended to be carried out mainly through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Australian Government and Northern Territory Government signed 16 September 2007. The MOU envisaged that 'when management measures are implemented in each community, it is expected that all children of compulsory school age will be enrolled at and attending school'.

That agreement commits the governments to work collaboratively in preparation for catering for a major increase in attendance that was expected because of the planned roll-out of the provisions of the new Social Security legislation in specified communities.

The provisions of the new Social Security legislation, allowing for the quarantining of up to 100 per cent of welfare payments for families whose children are not enrolled or do not attend school regularly, were not implemented.

The Board understands that complex legal and administrative issues particularly relating to flow of data between the governments, linking education benchmarking to income management and holding families responsible for teenage school attendance, led the Rudd Government to develop a different approach to that formulated by the previous government.

This new approach will be trialled from the beginning of the 2009 school year in eight locations across three jurisdictions, including six Northern Territory locations. Five of these locations are prescribed NTER communities. Evaluation results for the trial will be used to guide the future development of approaches to linking parents' welfare payments to schooling-related conditions.

The anticipated increase in school attendance has not occurred. However, the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training (DET) contends that student enrolment appears to have increased by about 400 students in schools within prescribed communities, but average attendance rates have remained stable (at approximately 65 per cent).

The Review Board's own research shows that while this figure is an increase in enrolment compared to the last three years it should be noted that both enrolments and attendance have increased marginally in the secondary school age group but for primary school children they have both declined.

The Northern Territory Government claims that the anticipated increase in attendance presents significant challenges to schools in Aboriginal communities including 'the need to accommodate additional students, socialise students, provide specific behaviour management strategies to teachers and address low levels of literacy'.14

The Review Board believes that these comments, expressed in benign and understated government language, support the Board's assessment from its community visits that there is an education system failure in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities.

The Board believes that the failure of governments and Aboriginal communities to provide a functioning education system necessary for children's physical, intellectual and emotional development is of paramount concern for the future of Aboriginal communities.

School participation rates and literacy and numeracy standards are appallingly low. Data provided by DET shows that an average of 27 per cent of enrolled students in very remote Aboriginal communities attend school regularly. Low attendance is clearly linked to outcomes. In very remote Aboriginal communities of the Northern Territory an average of just 20 per cent of students achieved national benchmarks in numeracy and reading.15

In its community visits the Board spoke to those who feel the pain of the education crisis. We were told by parents and families that their children were beyond their control and would not be directed to attend school.

Concerns about breakdown in family and parental discipline were shared by Aboriginal teaching staff. A young teacher despaired about the future of his community: 'The streets are full and the classrooms are empty.' A school principal spoke about families treating school attendance as a low priority.

There is a depth of concern in communities, particularly by elders, about the low level of English literacy among young people and the impact that this has on individual and community capacity.

There is widespread recognition that many middle-aged and older people in communities have greater formal literacy and numeracy skills than younger people.

The consultation feedback from community people and a number of educators based in communities paints a pervasive negative picture about the role and importance of formal education in the community. Schools, whether they are government, community or church-based, are generally not recognised by children, families and the community as an important asset for social and cultural development. There is little evidence that Aboriginal language and culture have been seriously incorporated into the formal school curriculum even though English was not the first language spoken in most communities that the Board visited.

The Board also spoke to principals and teachers at several schools and gained an insight into the administration dimension of the education crisis. The high turnover of teaching staff is clearly a critical problem that has a negative impact on school and community relationships. DET provided information to the Review claiming that almost one in three teachers on average will last only one year in a remote community school.

However, the Board believes from its community visits that staff turnover in communities is far higher than stated by DET as teachers are often transferred between communities' schools on regular rotation to fill gaps in schools. DET has advised the Review that it was unable to track individual staff movements to aggregate this data across the education system.

The Review finds it difficult to assess the impact of the NTER sub-measures to enhance education in Aboriginal communities.

The additional classrooms in the targeted communities are currently being delivered, although some community members expressed frustration about the lack of communication from the Northern Territory Government about this measure.

The available evidence on the school nutritional program indicates no link with increasing school attendance. The Board compared 17 schools that had a school nutritional program for more than six months with 19 schools that had only just received it or where school nutrition was yet to be established. Attendance had declined or was unchanged in two thirds of the long exposure schools while in two thirds of the short exposure schools it had increased. Clearly, school attendance is related to factors other than the availability of the school nutrition program.

Figure 2 Change in attendance rates

Figure 2 Change in attendance rates

While the Board assessed that there was general community support for the school nutrition program there were a range of concerns about the impost on families, inconsistent contributions within the community, quality of the food, and community confusion about who is responsible for the program's administration—the individual school, DEEWR, DET or Centrelink.

Some people in communities felt that a positive unintended consequence of the program was that it encouraged parents to be more involved in the school. However, some people raised the unintended negative consequence of removing people's responsibility to contribute to pre-existing voluntary school nutrition programs.

The Board has not been able to assess the effectiveness of the quality teaching package and accelerated literacy program for their contribution to the overall NTER. However, the intention to provide greater teacher stability focusing on the recruitment and professional development of Aboriginal teaching staff must be an urgent priority of government.

Members of the Board do not have specific expertise in education but it is patently clear from our visits to 30 remote communities in the course of this Review that there is a major education crisis in many Northern Territory Aboriginal communities which should command national attention. The majority of children in many communities are either not enrolled in schools or not attending regularly.

There are universal success factors that improve education outcomes that don't appear to be contested: focus on early childhood development, good quality teaching, quality education infrastructure and teaching resources, quality bilingual education, and associated sporting, cultural and development programs. All these critically important ingredients that determine education achievement globally are highly deficient in remote Northern Territory Aboriginal community schools.

The Board is reminded that a far reaching and high profile inquiry into Northern Territory Aboriginal education was conducted in 1999 and made significant recommendations to the Northern Territory Government which do not appear to have been implemented. The Board is also acutely aware that the 'Education Revolution' is central to the Rudd Government's social inclusion agenda and to its aspiration to close the gap for Indigenous Australians.

This Review notes the Australian Government's continued commitment to the NTER measures to enhance education in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities and its commitment announced early this year to employ an additional 200 teachers in Northern Territory communities over the next five years. However these initiatives are limited in terms of the magnitude of the problem and highly unlikely by themselves to seriously address the education crisis in communities.

The Board believes that the catastrophic education outcomes in remote communities require a sustained effort of innovative collaboration between governments and Aboriginal communities. This effort must focus on both sides of the principle of reciprocity: obligations on parents and families to compel their children to attend school matched by a major investment by governments to ensure that children receive high quality instruction when they attend school.

The Board has had the benefit of advice from a principal of one of the largest schools who believes the appalling education outcomes can be turned around through a holistic approach, including good education infrastructure, recruiting good teachers, early childhood development and empowering teacher and community relationships. This view is consistent with the thrust of the Board's strategic thinking that an integrated service delivery approach within a community development framework must be central to the future development of these communities.

Recommendations on Enhancing education

2.4 Measure 4: Supporting families

This measure consists of four sub-measures:

  1. Children's services and family support (crèches, playgroups and early childhood services)
  2. Child-at-risk workers for Northern Territory Child Protection Services
  3. Safe place for families escaping family violence
  4. Youth alcohol diversionary services.

A detailed description of each sub-measure is provided in Appendix 11.

Children's services and family support (crèches, playgroups and early childhood services)

The NTER has provided $859,000 for five playgroups and $400,000 to expand current and early childhood programs. Around $4.2 million will be spent on:

It was difficult to get accurate figures on the provision of pre-school services in communities. Although a number of government schools are registered to provide pre-school services, delivery appears to be ad hoc or at best an early childhood class tacked onto the school.

Most communities visited expressed a desperate need for early childhood services and family support programs, such as parenting programs, particularly to support young women, pre-schools, nutrition programs, childcare services, playgroups and crèches.

The Northern Territory Government has indicated that training for childcare workers has begun and it is assumed that these new workers will support crèche and playgroup operations. There is no indication of the recruitment or training for qualified early childhood teachers for pre-schools.

At the time of consultations, no new crèche facilities were operational. The Board has been advised that the first new crèche opened on 11 August 2008.

Child-at-risk workers for Northern Territory Child Protection Services

In 2003 the Northern Territory Government announced a five-year plan to reform the child protection system including expanding child protection services and legislative reform.

The NTER funding expanded or enhanced this reformed child protection regime. It has been used to establish a mobile child protection team (MCPT). Based in Darwin the MCPT investigates child protection reports in remote communities to alleviate the backlog of investigations and to support local offices in addressing increased workloads. The MCPT consists of 10 child protection practitioners, a coordinator and an administrative officer.

During consultations, no community members were able to comment on the effectiveness of the service, despite the MCPT reported to have completed over 240 investigations. One service provider was aware of the new mobile team and felt that this was a very positive service. However, it understood that difficulties recruiting qualified staff and high demand for services were reported to hinder its effectiveness.

Safe place for families escaping family violence

The Family Support package allocated $11.83 million in 2007–08 to establish or expand 22 safe houses and cooling off houses in 16 communities and increase the capacity of safe houses in Darwin and Alice Springs.

FaHCSIA has been allocated $9.5 million in 2008–09 to contribute to the project.

The Review Board visited communities with newly installed women's safe houses and men's cooling off places. The facilities in most locations consist of Royal Wolf steel shipping containers arranged to form a quadrangle where meetings and gatherings can be held. The facilities include office space, accommodation spaces and amenities. None were operational during the Review period.

Feedback from communities indicated that few people were consulted on either the design or location of the facility. Many women told the Board that they would not use the safe houses as they were 'more like detention centres'. One community rejected the container-style accommodation and secured commitment for a house to be designated and fitted out as a safe house. Some communities already had their own facilities.

It is understood that safe houses or cooling off places will often be used by people with a heightened risk of self harm. Direct personal care is essential. This duty of care and adequate training for staff are serious issues that do not appear to have been considered in the design of either the facility or the management of the program. Little information has been supplied on either the role of safe place staff or, more importantly, how all these initiatives will be coordinated to form part of an integrated plan for the community. This point was reinforced in a number of written submissions.

NTER funding for the staffing and operation of these facilities is for the 2008–09 year only. Neither the Australian nor the Northern Territory Government committed funding beyond the current year.

In recognition of the importance of local involvement to address child safety and wellbeing, FaHCSIA provided funding for 13 remote Aboriginal family and community workers (RAFCW). The aim of the RAFCW is to help communities and families access appropriate services, provide support to services regarding child safety concerns and to support Northern Territory child services workers in local Aboriginal communities.

Representations made to the Board during its community consultations and various submissions confirmed that it is critically important to the wellbeing of the entire community that families, especially children, who are at risk of violence and abuse, can access safe, secure and supportive services.

It is understood that recruitment action for RAFCWs has started and some officers have begun training. At the time of the Board's consultations Aboriginal communities and relevant service providers were not clear about the role of RAFCWs or how they would work with communities.

Youth alcohol diversionary services

This sub-measure aims to address the high levels of alcohol and drug abuse among young Aboriginal people living in remote communities and is largely a capital/infrastructure investment program with some funding directed to local youth activities. A threepart youth alcohol diversionary (YAD) implementation strategy was developed, consisting of:

FaHCSIA reports $8.5 million was funded across 95 projects.

Due to insufficient capacity, the Alice Springs Town Camp Youth Diversion Project did not go ahead so funding for this component was reallocated to the Indigenous Youth Flexible Funding Component.

Non-capital projects funded under this measure included establishing a Youth Development Network and conducting 20 youth-specific activities across 15 NGO providers, as well as running a school holiday program across 10 communities.

While a number of communities mentioned benefits of upgrades to existing facilities there was also widespread comment about the persistent lack of ongoing youth services. This was especially so for communities that only received youth activities as part of a holiday program. Also, some communities while benefiting from better sporting or recreational facilities did not have the benefit of a youth worker. It was also said that young children were the main users of youth services, with services finding it challenging to attract teenagers, the intended target group of the sub-measure.

Child abuse

The essential justification for the NTER was the reported endemic sexual abuse of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory.

The Little Children are Sacred report identified the sexual abuse of children as one element of child maltreatment occurring at unacceptable levels in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. It also identified the sexualised behaviour of children and young people and general neglect as issues of concern. It relied on testimony from community members and service providers to draw these conclusions, noting the under-reporting of these matters to authorities.

Under-reporting is common to child sexual assault across Australia. The level of under-reporting in Indigenous communities generally is accepted to be higher than for non-Indigenous children.

According to a 2003 Inquiry into Aboriginal child protection services in the Northern Territory the incidence of under-reporting in Northern Territory communities is grossly disproportionate compared with under-reporting in Aboriginal communities in other jurisdictions and can be viewed as symptomatic of the failure of the child protection system in the Northern Territory.16

As The Little Children Are Sacred report noted, the reluctance to report is not confined to the Aboriginal community: it is shared by service providers as well. Both groups lack faith in the child protection system to respond effectively to reports of maltreatment of any kind.

Recent reforms to the Northern Territory child protection system are a response to a steady increase in child protection reports (a national trend): notifications increased by 93 per cent since 2001, and the number of children in care increased 120 per cent. While Northern Territory child protection reforms are still at an early stage of implementation the Board found no evidence of increased confidence in reporting child maltreatment in Aboriginal communities.

The Board heard a number of recent examples of attempts to report abuse or neglect to child protection authorities where there was no effective response. Police, local government officials and Aboriginal community members gave examples. More broadly, most communities reported little or no perceived change in the safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal children as a result of the NTER.

Throughout our consultations, communities called for evidence about the NTER's dealing with child sexual abuse. Many people also expressed anger at having conditions imposed on them for what was seen as an issue relevant to a small proportion of people. It was stated at some consultations that issues concerning the neglect of children was more widespread and should receive more attention. Sexualised behaviour of children and young people was also widely expressed as a concern for Aboriginal communities.

In addition, many people were exasperated that child abuse and neglect were issues throughout Australia and that non-Aboriginal Australians were as likely to harm their children. Numerous media reports from around Australia were cited as examples of non- Aboriginal neglect and abuse of children, highlighting the claim that Northern Territory Aboriginal people had been unfairly singled out.

It seems clear to the Board that these perceptions have eroded the Aboriginal community's confidence in the NTER's capacity to address child safety and wellbeing. The Board found that there was demonstrable failure on the part of government to communicate to Aboriginal people the meaning of the comprehensive nature of the NTER. For instance, most people in communities could not understand the linkage between child safety outcomes and compulsory income management for people without children or the external painting of houses or the removal of the permit system. These sentiments often overwhelmingly negated any perception of the possible benefits of specific NTER measures.

The Board was consistently impressed with the depth of social capital and community desire, expressed at almost every community consultation, to deal with issues of child abuse and neglect. The Board heard of many courageous efforts of individuals and communities to deal with the most difficult issues, without government support or resources.

A number of submissions made the point that while statutory child protection systems provided a safety net for children at risk of harm, the whole community was responsible for strong developmental outcomes for children. Further, the Board's research highlights the active participation of the Aboriginal community in designing and implementing a continuum of early childhood and family support services as a necessary ingredient to ensuring the wellbeing of families and children.

One of the Board's first meetings was with the newly appointed Northern Territory Children's Commissioner, Dr Howard Bath, who discussed the notion of 'developmental trauma' and its relevance to understanding child abuse issues in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities.

Researchers describe development trauma disorder as a series of traumatic events during a child's developmental phase that impairs normal neurological development, particularly as it relates to a capacity to adapt to stress.17 This can be evident in a child's inability to form trusting relationships, anger and defiance, passivity, substance abuse and other harmful behaviours towards themselves and others.18

Dr Bath indicated that it is quite possible that there are high rates of developmental trauma in remote Aboriginal communities and town camps in the Northern Territory. People brought up in developmental trauma situations where there is regular violence and alcohol abuse often become deregularised in their behaviour and incapable of managing normal emotions, particularly anger and fear, which in turn may lead to alcohol and drug abuse.

Given the living conditions in these communities characterised by chronic overcrowding in houses, alcohol, drug abuse and violence, it is highly likely that today's children are the product of parents who themselves are affected by developmental trauma. The Board agrees with Dr Bath's assessment that a focus on the sexual abuse of children obscures the reality of the crisis of child abuse in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities which concerns serious neglect within the context of developmental trauma.

In speaking to their submission the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA) reported on a health impact assessment currently under way which indicates that the NTER has created a feeling of 'collective existential despair'—feelings characterised by a 'widespread sense of helplessness, hopelessness and worthlessness, and experienced throughout entire community(s)'.19

Awareness of the causes and implications of developmental trauma should inform a holistic approach to improving child and family health. It is relevant to many other NTER measures. The Board believes that the absolute need to ensure children's safety and wellbeing should be central to an integrated community development framework.

Recommendations on Supporting families

2.5 Measure 5: Improving child and family health

2.5.1 Overview

The Improving child and family health measure consists of three sub-measures:

  1. Child health checks, medical follow-up and treatment
  2. Child special services
  3. Drug and alcohol response.

A detailed description of each sub-measure is provided in Appendix 11.

Child health checks, medical follow-up and treatment

The Phase 1 voluntary child health checks (CHC) undertaken were general Medicare checks (MBS item number 708).

By 30 June 2008 the NTER had arranged comprehensive health checks for 9428 children (55 per cent of the eligible children). If Medicare Benefits Scheme figures for the prescribed areas are also included, this rises to 11,200 children, or 66 per cent of the eligible population.

Based on analysis of 8324 child health checks, 88.2 per cent of children had one or more health conditions identified. This is based on the 17 most common health conditions. It does not, however, include risk factors such as having a smoker in the household which affects 76 per cent of children. The proportion of children with various conditions shows the following:

Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) made a decision to participate in the CHCs despite opposing the NTER in principle.20 Their participation was made on the basis of the best interests of the children and their families. Medical examinations conducted by ACCHOs, where a relationship of trust already existed, were thought likely to be less intrusive than those conducted by medical teams that had no prior knowledge of Aboriginal children and their families or relationship with them.

Remote Northern Territory Aboriginal communities already had specific child health programs involving regular health checks: the Growth Assessment and Action program and the Healthy School-Age Kids program.

While the Australian Government asserts that some 50 per cent of health checks identified new concerns, the overwhelming response to the NTER child health checks by local health service providers was that the process entailed a high degree of duplication of existing services and a missed opportunity to apply the funds more effectively.

Flawed and counter-productive administrative processes were also a common feature of feedback at the community level.

It appears that local providers bore the brunt of the administrative burden of the CHCs. When CHCs were completed, all documentation was left for the local service to enter electronically; many local services were required to arrange transport for families to attend CHC clinics. All follow-up referrals and subsequent clinical, accommodation and transport arrangements remained with the local provider. In an already under-resourced sector this impact was substantial.

Poor planning and inappropriate referral also featured in feedback and written submissions.

The Health and Aging data relating to Phase 1 record that, from 8324 CHCs, 69 per cent of the children were referred for one or more follow-up services. The most common referrals were for: primary health care clinic (39 per cent of children who received a child health check), dental (34 per cent), tympanometry and audiology (13 per cent), paediatrics (12 per cent), ear nose and throat (8 per cent).

The Board was told at community consultations and in consultations with health service providers that many children referred following their CHCs have had to wait several months for follow-up treatment. Follow-up appears to be sporadic, unpredictable and determined more by the availability of specialists and funding constraints rather than the child's health needs.

The Australian Government provides funding to the Northern Territory Government and ACCHOs to conduct follow-up treatment. The Board estimates that at September 2008, approximately 60 per cent of children still require follow-up treatment. This is an unacceptable situation and both governments must turn their urgent attention to addressing the backlog of children awaiting treatment.

Forty-four per cent of children who received a CHC were identified as having oral health issues with 41 per cent specifically having untreated caries. Dental health remains a high need in Aboriginal communities and is heavily impacted by the lack of available dentists. It is suggested that up to 80 per cent of children are still requiring follow-up dental treatment. Submissions to the Board highlight investment in preventative dentistry as a high need for Aboriginal children. This should also be a priority for government.

CHCs and the roll-out of this measure negatively affected morale among local health and medical staff. A decrease in morale was noted in several submissions and in community consultations.

It was originally announced that NTER child health checks would be compulsory.21 On 5 June 2007, some two weeks later, the position softened.

However the sense of panic brought about by the original intention of invasive, compulsory checks was not averted. On numerous occasions during community consultations, the Board heard accounts of women and children fleeing the community 'before the army rolled in'.

Community health clinics reported being overwhelmed with women expressing alarm and seeking reassurance from their known and trusted primary health care providers.

The Review Board expresses serious concern that in responding to a national crisis, centred on the health and wellbeing of children and families, the negative impacts of the NTER may have, in some cases, actually further damaged the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal communities.

Phase 3 of the child health check sub-measure, now known as the Expanding Health Service Delivery Initiative (EHSDI), is subject to a memorandum of understanding between the Australian and Northern Territory Governments and the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT). The MOU commits $100 million over two years to build the capacity of primary health care services based on a model of regional service delivery. The Review Board supports this approach but notes concern expressed by AMSANT that a governing body comprising Australian and Territory governments and AMSANT be established to ensure principles regarding Aboriginal community control are incorporated into all aspects of the implementation and monitoring of the EHSDI.

Child special services

This measure supported the introduction of an Aboriginal Mobile Outreach Service, an extension of the Northern Territory Sexual Assault Referral Centre. The Outreach Service responds to victims, suspected victims and those deemed at risk of child sexual assault and their families by providing information, support, assessment and therapeutic interventions. The service also provides information, education and training on preventing, responding and supporting victims of child sexual assault. Liaison between service providers and capacity building in Aboriginal communities is also a function of the Outreach Service.

Therapeutic responses to the issue of child sexual assault are well documented as a key component of an effective child protection system.22 Therefore, the Board is concerned that this small unit of five staff is expected to deliver a broad range of direct and indirect services for the entire Northern Territory Aboriginal community and support services. Furthermore, there is little research about effective therapeutic approaches for Aboriginal people and caution should be exercised in introducing this service without the benefit of evidence about what works and what doesn't.

Little is known about this service in the Aboriginal community contributing to a feeling that it has done nothing substantial to improve the safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal children. In the course of its community consultations the Board heard directly from one community that had received this service. A young girl had been sexually abused. There was one visit by a counsellor when the abuse was first disclosed but there had been no follow-up either with the girl, her family or the community. Whether the service was discontinued due to higher priority needs or because the family was assessed as no longer requiring the service is unclear. The fact that the family doesn't know why the service ceased shows poor communication and lack of clarity about service delivery limitations and expectations.

Of further concern to the Board is the way in which the service is confined to victims of sexual abuse, suspected victims and children considered to be at risk of sexual assault. Children and families experience trauma in diverse ways.

In a child protection context this includes experiences of physical violence and other forms of maltreatment. Researchers, communities and submissions have discussed the many forms of trauma a child may experience, all of which require a therapeutic response. For this type of service to have a broad positive impact and help to build enduring improved coping abilities in victims, it needs to be available more widely.

It is understood that the development of an adolescent sex offender healing model is in its formative stages, and that it is likely a final operating model may take considerable time to implement. This is an area that will require particular expertise and extensive research and has the potential to significantly contribute to a holistic therapeutic system.

It should be noted that this measure funded the Aboriginal Male Health Summit 2008 and to scope a healing model for adolescent sex offenders—both commendable initiatives.

Drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation services

This sub-measure aimed to expand alcohol and other drug services across the Northern Territory to support individuals and communities affected by the new alcohol legislation. Increased demand for withdrawal, treatment and rehabilitation services was anticipated.

Targets of 28 Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) outreach personnel were set for engagement at selected primary care and substance use services. As at July 2008, 20 AOD staff were employed in primary health care services (largely through ACCOHs) throughout the five regional centres of Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Darwin, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. This includes 11 AOD professionals and the remaining positions comprising Aboriginal consultants.

The Council for Aboriginal Alcohol Programs Services (Darwin), Barkly Regional Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Advisory Group Inc (Tennant Creek), Mission Australia (Nhulunbuy) and Vendale Rehabilitation Centre (Katherine) received funding to increase bed capacity, additional staff and operation costs. In addition, the Central Australian Aocohol Program Unit received funding to complete a women's residential facility at Alice Springs.

Community consultations did not reveal broad community knowledge of these expanded services. The Board notes that due to changes in activities under this measure, funding and timing limitations and recruitment action, the full impact of this measure cannot be known at this early stage.

The Clinical Director AOD notes that the effectiveness of hospital-based services has been limited due to delays in recruitment and significantly, due to a lack of confidence and expertise in managing AOD presentations in hospitals.

However, early indications are promising. As noted in several submissions, integration of drug and alcohol services within existing Aboriginal communitycontrolled primary health care services have been previously identified as a high need.

NTER AOD initiatives have been implemented by a working group in a whole-of-government context with a strong partnership with Aboriginal community-controlled health providers represented by AMSANT. The benefit of this approach is evidenced by the ability of the working group to adjust relevant measures to address areas of need based on known best practice.

While increased community capacity to treat and rehabilitate alcohol and other substance users is welcome, a number of submissions note the limited outcomes of one dimensional alcohol restriction approaches.

Many submissions23, while welcoming the expansion of services, strongly support multi-faceted approaches that seek to reduce harm, supply and demand.

Recommendations on Improving child and family health

2.6. Measure 6: Housing and land reform

This measure consists of five sub-measures:

  1. Five-year lease program
  2. Urgent repairs to infrastructure
  3. Permits
  4. Community clean up
  5. Land compensation

A detailed description of each sub-measure is provided in Appendix 11.

Five-year leases

The primary objective of this measure was for the Australian Government to take possession and control of the larger Aboriginal communities through the compulsory acquisition of the land area by the grant of an exclusive five-year lease to the Commonwealth of Australia.

This was done to 'improve living conditions', 'reduce overcrowding' and build more houses by providing for Australian Government control of the land and 'unfettered access' 24 where the townships exist 'for a short period of time'.

Section 31 of the NTNER Act provides for the compulsory acquisition of leases over 64 specified communities and allows the government to acquire further leases by regulation. The acquisition of these leases occurred without the consent of the Aboriginal landowners or local Aboriginal land councils. Under the terms of the lease community residents have no right of residence.

All 64 leases are currently in force: 26 of the leases began on 18 August 2007, the other 38 leases on 17 February 2008. The Aboriginal communities subject to five-year leases include16 communities that are not on Aboriginal land under the ALRA and are described as community living areas.25 All leases expire on 18 August 2012 regardless of when they began. A table of the five-year leases acquired by the Commonwealth is in Appendix 14.

The terms and conditions of the leases give the Australian Government exclusive possession and quiet enjoyment of the leasehold area.26 The NTNER Act also allows the Minister to determine additional terms and conditions.27 The Minister approved further terms and conditions on 17 August 2007 which provide for very wide ranging control of the land, including the right to use, and permit the use of, the land for any purpose the Australian Government considers is consistent with the objective of the NTNER Act.

The underlying freehold title to the land remains unaffected by the five-year leases and pre-existing interests in the land are preserved. Pre-existing registered leases are automatically excluded from the five-year leased area.

If a lease is granted in accordance with s. 19 or 19A of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 over an area already the subject of a fiveyear lease, the five-year lease will cease to have any effect on the land covered by the new lease.

Uncertainty and a lack of knowledge about five-year leases were evident in most communities visited.

Where community members were aware of the five-year leases, it added to their distrust of the government's intentions, exacerbated by the fact that the Commonwealth had failed to pay rent as a tenant or compensation for the compulsory acquisition of land subject to the leases. In addition, the acquisition has occurred within the context of the suspension of the operation of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, which is dealt with elsewhere in this report.

The Board believes that the Australian Government should act decisively to try and restore trust by showing respect towards Aboriginal people's land rights, their decision-making processes and their culture. Fair and just compensation should be paid when the Australian Government takes land from the owners.

Such action would indicate a measure of good faith by the Commonwealth towards Aboriginal owners as it seeks to engage in voluntary long-term leasing arrangements to provide the basis for future housing and infrastructure investment in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.

The Board is concerned at the apparent lack of capacity on the part of the two major land councils (Northern and Central) to engage in the timely negotiation of long-term leases over the major townships and the consequent delays that those communities are likely to experience in securing the essential investment for housing and other essential infrastructure.

Outstations

Outstations have not been included as a part of Measure 6 of the NTER as they are not regarded a part of the 64 communities subject to the fiveyear leases.

The Board is concerned that the place of homeland communities remains in a policy vacuum.

The approach of separating homeland communities from the larger communities (as adopted in the NTER) creates an artificial distinction between the larger communities and the smaller ones, which belies the reality of the lives of many Aboriginal people who regularly move between the two and hence has implications for the effectiveness of those measures and programs that don't incorporate that reality.

As mentioned elsewhere in this report, the Indigenous housing accommodation and related services MOU of September 2007 would on the face of it appear to have transferred all responsibility for providing essential services and housing to the Northern Territory Government for outstations. Given these circumstances the absence of any clear policy about the future of outstations places the lives of many Aboriginal people in limbo.

This concern is clearly reflected in the submission of the Laynhapuy Homelands Association Inc. to the Review Board, which stated as follows28:

Our association represents over 800 Yolngu who live in 19 remote homeland communities in North East Arnhem Land. The population we serve is as big as the prescribed community of Yirrkala, and bigger than many other prescribed communities under the intervention. It is estimated that 50% of the homeland populations have been substantially ignored under the Intervention. An estimated 10,000 Aboriginal people live in homelands/ outstations across the Northern Territory.

The Board would urge both the Australian and Northern Territory Governments to reassess their approach to the future funding and support for outstations, and determine, as a matter of priority, their policy in relation to these communities.

Urgent repairs to infrastructure

This measure consisted of the repair and upgrade of a range of infrastructure, which it was assessed required immediate attention. It was a response to the much reported poor and sometimes dangerous state of infrastructure in Aboriginal communities.29

Activities in this field were undertaken very early on in the NTER mainly through a process described as 'tasks of opportunity', which identified urgent repairs and maintenance to infrastructure such as sewerage, water pipes, fencing and road upgrades.

Repairs were generally done on an ad hoc basis as identified in the early surveys of need. Projects ranged from small to quite large—sometimes as much as $1 million but were mainly (if not completely) nonhousing related.

The program has completed a number of works and will fund further works in the future. While support for urgent repairs has been widespread, some concerns were expressed about the work going to outside contractors rather than local organisations that were alleged to have the capacity to do such work.

There have been reports of damage to sacred sites30 (three incidents reported) by outside contractors working without permission from relevant Aboriginal custodians. In terms of the amount of work done these incidents, while serious, do not in our view constitute a pattern of disregard for the protection of sacred sites. Also when these incidents occurred the NTER Operations Centre reacted quickly and positively to mitigate any further damage or illegal activity on the part of the contractors.

Permits

In its original form the permit system enabled the traditional owners of Aboriginal land to control access to all areas of their land including the townships. It applied to all land held under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. It did not apply to community living areas or to town camps. It was an offence to enter or remain on Aboriginal land without a permit. Aboriginal land councils and traditional owners could issue and revoke permits.

The 2007 NTNER legislation package made changes to the permit system removing the necessity to obtain permits for certain people in certain circumstances. Government workers, contractors and volunteers engaged in the NTER were enabled to enter and remain on Aboriginal land without a permit for the five-year period of the Intervention. Members of the public were no longer required to have a permit to access the common areas of 52 major communities on Aboriginal land and the major access routes leading to these communities. People attending a court hearing on Aboriginal land no longer required a permit.

It was the overwhelming view of people consulted by the Board and in many of the submissions received that the permit system to be reinstated in communities on Aboriginal land.

Community members consulted by the Board were consistently critical of any suggestion that the permit system be amended to facilitate greater access by non-Aboriginal people to Aboriginal communities. The Board noted that some community members were unaware of the proposed changes that had been put forward by the previous government and were equally unaware of the changed status of the permit system. Many noted and complained about the greater numbers of contractors and other unidentified visitors coming and going in their communities since the start of the NTER and questioned whether such people had been given appropriate security checks, particularly in relation to child protection issues and alcohol or drug prohibitions.

The Board is familiar with the various arguments put forward by the critics and defenders of the permit system. We believe, however, that the comment of Mr Justice Woodward made in 1974 remains pertinent to Aboriginal land owners across the Northern Territory:

One of the most important proofs of genuine Aboriginal ownership of land will be the right to exclude from it those who are not welcome.31

The Board would suggest that this remains the most compelling reason underlying the communities' and landowners' determination to preserve their land rights by retaining the permit system.

In the absence of receiving any persuasive argument in support of repealing the permit system, the Board believes it should be reinstated to control general public access to the townships on Aboriginal land. Perhaps just as importantly, the permit system must be effectively policed and administered to give proper effect to its intent.

Community clean up

The community clean up (CCU) program and house repairs, which form part of this measure, were described as essential in the first phase of the NTER.32 It was intended to be an intense shortterm activity to make communities safer and healthier, with tradespeople spending 1 to 10 days in communities for the first 'make safe' component and another 4 to 9 weeks for the second 'minor vital repairs' component.

The CCU program targeted the 73 NTER communities (excluding outstations and town camps) and included five components. In summary they enabled the repair of immediately dangerous conditions, general minor repairs, painting, rubbish removal and a summary report of works.33

The Board has been advised that34 3046 properties had been surveyed to assess the need for repairs and in 'all of these properties, urgent repairs have been undertaken'. In addition 'minor vital repairs' have been completed in 2995 properties.35

Local community members and shire council personnel told the Board of instances where items such as toilets, showers and window frames were replaced, not because they needed to be but because they were on the contractor's list.36 This gave rise to assertions in many locations we visited that the program had resulted in little real improvement to the standard of housing but had resulted in significant wastage of funds that could have been better used to address more immediate needs within the community and to provide local employment.

It was also reported that the costs of employing tradesmen in remote communities had now escalated because of the premium rates they could obtain under NTER contracts. This has reduced the availability of tradesmen for normal work in the communities and raised the costs of securing tradesmen to work outside the regional centres.

The component dealing with rubbish removal, cleaning and painting of dwellings also generated considerable comment within communities. Under this component, local residents could be engaged to undertake a major clean up and collection of rubbish around their communities with new rubbish dumps established where necessary. Although funds were allocated to support the clean up of communities, there was little evidence that the quantity of rubbish left in the streets and public places in those communities we visited, had diminished. We were told that there had been minimal participation by communities and that, although the clean up was regarded as an activity under the Work for the Dole scheme, it had not resulted in any widespread participation.

There was much speculation in communities about why houses only needed their external walls painted. Some believed it was to provide some visible indication of community participation in an NTER activity. Others thought that it was designed to lift the spirits of the community and to generate enthusiasm for improving the community environs more generally. Whatever the motive, the external painting of houses has had a very mixed participating profile, with the majority of houses being painted by just a few local people in each community operating under the supervision of an external contractor.

Land compensation

This sub-measure dealt with any requirement or liability the Commonwealth may have:

The sub-measure is not designed to provide compensation for the compulsory acquisition of Aboriginal-owned land, but to cover the eventuality that the Australian Government was found to be liable to pay it.

A special appropriation to cover compensation payments has been made but no payments or negotiations about such payments have occurred to date.38 No appropriation was made for rental payments in the original NTNER legislative package.39

Recommendations on Housing and land reform

Five-year leases

Permits

2.7 Measure 7: Coordination

The Coordination measure has the following seven sub-measures:

  1. NTER Taskforce
  2. Government Business Managers (GBMs)
  3. Operations Centre
  4. Community engagement and volunteering
  5. Temporary accommodation of whole-ofgovernment staff
  6. Commonwealth Ombudsman support for NTER
  7. Logistical support for NTER.

A detailed description of each sub-measure is provided in Appendix 11.

The Review Board has focused its assessment on those aspects of the measure which were raised through community consultations and formal submissions. Accordingly, this section of the report analyses the key aspects of the Operations Centre and Government Business Managers (GBMs). However we would note that the Ombudsman provided a valuable right of appeal service, which in the Board's view should be maintained.

It is widely acknowledged that the Operations Centre was a very effective mechanism for cutting through the many logistical and administrative impediments associated with the roll-out of the major programs such as child health checks and income management.

However, the Board is not persuaded that communities subject to the NTER were effectively engaged or consulted about the various measures of the NTER. There was little evidence that any of the communities involved had a clear understanding of the intentions of the NTER or why they were necessary.

There is little doubt that the roll-out of the various measures was done as a strictly controlled logistical exercise implemented against non-negotiable timelines. This did not allow for engagement or consultation of the kind or quality that might have resulted in communities feeling their views were valued or that they were being invited to play a constructive role in the implementation of the NTER.

As stated in the section of this report dealing with Methodology, apart from some initial scoping data used primarily to inform the urgent repairs to infrastructure program, there was little evidence of baseline data being gathered in any formal or organised format which would permit an assessment of the impact and progress of the NTER upon communities. The lack of empirical data has proved to be a major problem for this Review and represents an area in urgent need of development.

The Commander of the Operations Centre indicated to the Board40 that one of his more challenging roles in implementing the NTER was contending with the 'silo' mentality and practices of those departments involved in the implementation of the NTER. Notwithstanding the rhetoric of the whole-of-government approach, he continued to confront agencies and management who were unable to translate the intention into practice. This had caused him considerable challenges in securing the effective roll-out of the NTER measures and required constant vigilance on his part to remove the 'blockages' within the system.

At the community level, GBMs were also frustrated by the lack of coordination and communication within and between agencies in delivering their services to the communities. This reflects the Board's own perception that there remains a major gap between the laudable intention of wholeof- government management and the reality of its implementation on the ground. We found that communities continue to struggle under an ever increasing demand for meetings with unfamiliar faces representing government and NGO providers seeking 'consultations' on complex and unfamiliar programs, who fly in and fly out on a daily basis and give no sense of a coordinated or planned engagement with the communities.

There were many examples which demonstrated that, despite the commitment to the whole-ofgovernment approach and its endorsement by the leadership in the Australian and Northern Territory Public Services, there continues to be a disconnect between the intention and the practice of that approach from middle management down through to the ground level. The silo form of administration remains intact and continues to impede effective and timely responses to the needs of Aboriginal communities.

The Board does not underestimate the difficulties associated with the successful implementation of the whole-of-government approach and the major cultural change it represents within both public services. It will require strong and enduring leadership at all levels and support for those who have the responsibility to deliver the coordinated outcomes on the ground.

Role and effectiveness of GBMs

The recruitment and appointment of GBM personnel was undertaken in an environment of urgency. The roles and responsibilities of GBMs are outlined at Appendix 15. Those recruited were mainly senior personnel from within the Australian Public Service with experience in program management. They were offered 12-month contracts with terms and conditions that were significantly enhanced in recognition of the 'crisis' situation into which they were being sent and the lack of accommodation and amenities they would experience. GBMs were not permitted to take their partners or families to live with them. Many of those recruited had limited or no experience of living in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. The Commander of the Operations Centre praised the GBM personnel and said that he had relied heavily on their capabilities to successfully roll out the NTER.

Few GBMs have had any professional community development training. We observed, even in our limited time talking to community representatives, that there were quite marked differences in the way GBMs operated within communities.

A small number of GBMs have had overseas community development experience and it shows in their interactions with people. There is genuine engagement with local people, and obvious interest in them, as well as the necessary professional management of government investment. In other cases the Board met GBMs who had remained distant and apart from the community and, in some cases, from the key local service providers. In one case the Board found it necessary to introduce the GBM to senior staff at the health clinic.

Where GBMs have taken the time to properly engage with the Aboriginal people in whose community they are living and working, and started to involve those local people even in small ways in ongoing planning, they were far more likely to be considered as adding value to the life of the community.

In a number of communities, despite the presence of GBMs, a strong perception remains that government business is not delivered in a coordinated way. There are some obvious reasons for this. GBMs manage only Australian Government business and have no formal role in relation to the Northern Territory.

The need to coordinate the activities of government agencies extends to the proliferation of NGO contracted service providers. GBMs reported difficulty in coordinating across multiple and varied non-government organisations, and in accurately assessing the impact of delivery through those organisations. Several submissions reported on perceptions by people in different communities about the unevenness in the level of investment and varied quality and types of services between communities, and the differences in what could be expected from services.

The Board believes that all governments and NGOs must be committed to establishing a more positive and constructive relationship upon which future developments are based. A community development approach will be essential and there will need to be a genuine engagement with communities in designing, developing and implementing policies going forward.

This renewed engagement must go beyond rhetoric. It needs to focus on Aboriginal people as capable and adaptive people and support the development of their capacity to be independent, self-managing and self-supporting.

GBMs have a critical part to play in re-engaging with Aboriginal people in remote Northern Territory communities, but to do so effectively they will need to be realigned to strengthen a community development approach at the community level. One immediate step would be to rename them as Community Development Manager. Those currently occupying the positions should be required to undergo preliminary training to upgrade their community development skills. Others who are appointed to the position of Community Development Manager in the future should be required to undergo relevant professional development training. Part of their role will be to rebuild the confidence and trust in the eyes of the community that governments can and will work in partnership with Aboriginal people. The issue of tailored community development training is discussed below in section 3.4.

Recommendations on Coordination

  1. Unless a person has a liquor permit or is drinking in a licensed premises.
  2. Part 2 of the Act modified provisions of the Liquor Act (NT), and Liquor Regulations (NT) and the Police Administration Act (NT) and imposed new requirements on the Northern Territory Licensing Commission. The ban began on 5 August 2007. The previous government also amended the alcohol measures in the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007 (Cth) in the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Amendment (Alcohol) Act 2007 (Cth), which changed the application of alcohol prohibitions and defences and the record-keeping requirements for takeaway sales in the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007 (Cth).
  3. Northern Territory Government Submissions, p. 10
  4. Examples include submissions—Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation (LNAC), Alice Springs Women's Shelter, and North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA)
  5. NT Government Submission, p. 45
  6. Ibid, p. 10
  7. ABS 2006 Population Estimates
  8. Ibid.
  9. Latest GBM Report. ABS only provides population estimates for the West Arnhem region (excluding Gunbalanya)
  10. FaHCSIA Submission, Appendix 1
  11. NT Government Submission, p. 41
  12. Ibid.
  13. FaHCSIA submission appendix, p. 45
  14. Northern Territory Government Submission—Enhancing Education, p. 47
  15. Ibid., p. 48
  16. J Pocock, 'State of Denial: The Neglect And Abuse of Indigenous Children in the Northern Territory', Secretariat, National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, Melbourne, 2003
  17. Cook et al, Psychiatric Annals May 2005, pp 390–398
  18. Bessel A. van der Kolk, Psychiatric Annals May 2005, pp 401–408
  19. AIDA Submission
  20. Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of Northern Territory (AMSANT) Submission
  21. 'National emergency response to protect Aboriginal children in the NT', media release, Mal Brough, 21 June 2007. http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/internet/minister3.nsf/content/emergency_21june07.htm (accessed 10 September 2008)
  22. SNAICC, HREOC, AIDA, research reports
  23. Examples include NTER AOD Clinical Director, AMSANT, Australian Indigenous Doctors Association, Menzies School of Health Research, National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee and Central Australian Aboriginal Congress
  24. Explanatory Memorandum to the NTNER Act, p. 26
  25. Community living areas (CLA) are generally located within the boundaries of pastoral leases and are a separate title granted to Aboriginal associations under the Land Acquisitions Act of the Northern Territory.
  26. Section 35 of the NTNER Act
  27. On 17 August 2007 the then Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs determined the Additional Terms and Conditions for Leases in accordance with s. 36 of the Act available at http://www.comlaw.gov.au/comlaw/management.nsf/lookupindexpagesbyid/ IP200732177?OpenDocument
  28. Laynhapuy Homelands Association, p. 1
  29. Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (2007), 'Living in the Sunburnt Country, Indigenous Housing: Findings of the Review of the Community Housing and Infrastructure Programme', Final Report, February 2007, PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Ch 4, pp 51–84; and also Productivity Commission, 'Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage – Key Indicators' reports 2003, 2005, 2007 (environmental health, sewerage and clean water)
  30. Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority Submission, p. 15
  31. Aboriginal Land Rights Commission, Second Report, April 1974; 1974 – Parliamentary Papers No. 69, paragraph 109, p. 18
  32. FaHCSIA Submission, p. 45
  33. Ibid., Appendix 1, p. 64
  34. Ibid., p. 17
  35. Ibid.
  36. Ti Tree consultations
  37. The Commonwealth Minister has these powers in s. 68 of the NTNER Act but to date they have not been used as far as the Review Board could determine.
  38. Section 63 of the NTNER Act
  39. Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Estimates Committee, Answers to Questions on Notice received from Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA), 2007, Question no. 4 <www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/ nt_emergency/additional_info/facsia_answers_qon.pdf>
  40. Interview with Major General Chalmers, Darwin, 10 September 2008

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Chapter 3

Chapter 1