| Prime Minister's Announcement | NT Government Plans |
| Police from other jurisdictions will be seconded into the NT Police Force to work in remote communities. | The NT Government welcomes the significant additional resources this initiative will provide. The additional officers will work alongside Northern Territory Police. They will undergo induction training in respect to police powers, cultural issues and current policing strategies. These measures will ensure they have an understanding of the special challenges involved with policing in the Territory. |
| Business Managers will be appointed to deliver Australian Government programs in remote communities rather than continuing to use local government. The NT Government has been asked to consider using the same administrator to deliver its programs. | The Australian Government is now looking at how it can complement these plans with the NT Government’s planned reforms to Local Government, particularly during the transition phase of the reforms. |
| The Australian Government will legislate to ban the possession and transportation of alcohol on all Aboriginal Land and in town camps for six months. It will review liquor licences in those areas, with the exception of where the Taskforce considers they are working effectively. It also wants to implement an identification system for other parts of the Territory for the purchase of the equivalent of three cartons of beer or more. | The Northern Territory Government has already implemented significant alcohol supply and distribution reforms which are having an impact in those communities where they have been implemented. The Australian Government has now asked the NT Government to implement these reforms and the NT has agreed subject to flexibility in a couple of areas. |
| The Australian Government will change the way welfare payments are made to people living in the prescribed communities, to ensure payments are not used to fuel abusive behaviours such as alcohol, drugs and gambling. | The Northern Territory Government has encouraged this type of reform for some time. |
| The Australian Government will compulsorily acquire all communities on Indigenous land on a five-year lease with just compensation and is considering legislating to cancel leases for town camps with a view to taking control of them. | The NT Government will continue to negotiate long-term leases for housing and services on Aboriginal Land. We will be working with town camps to see if the Australian Government's objectives can be achieved without compulsory acquisition. |
| The leasehold arrangement will ensure that public housing can be improved. | The Northern Territory Government has argued for significant increases in funding for Indigenous housing for some years now to address the huge backlog. The NT Government allocated an additional $100 million to Indigenous housing in its recent Budget and will be negotiating with the Australian Government to win a significant share of the $1.6 billion over four years announced in the last Federal Budget. |
| The permit system for access to roads and common areas in towns on Aboriginal Land will be removed. | The Northern Territory Government is opposed to this move. |
| Compulsory health checks for Indigenous children will be enforced. This has since been modified to voluntary standard medical checks for children under 16. | The NT Government does not support compulsory health checks and welcomes the Australian Government decision to modify its approach on this. Health checks are a regular part of the service delivered by our staff in communities. Our health screening guidelines have been developed based on the WHO screening criteria and emphasise the importance of follow up. The NT Government would also welcome any Australian Government commitment that would deliver a permanent presence of doctors in communities. |
| X-rated pornography will be banned. | It is not clear whether this ban will refer only to communities or to the whole of the Territory and the NT Government is seeking clarification on this. |
| Communities will be 'cleaned up' using Work for the Dole Arrangements. | The NT Government supports such a clean up but wants to ensure this type of work becomes permanent local jobs rather than welfare based. |
| The Prime Minister has criticised the NT Government's response to child abuse. | The Chief Minister has said on record that more needs to be done by both Governments and the Indigenous community and welcomes the Australian Government's support. The NT wants to ensure any reforms are well-planned, long-lasting and undertaken in consultation with Indigenous Territorians. NT Departments are working together to produce a long-term plan, as called for in the Inquiry, and this will require considerable consultation with the Commonwealth. As recognised in the Inquiry report, many of the recommendations build on work already undertaken by the NT Government including measures to tackle alcohol and substance abuse and improve education. A detailed and comprehensive response to the 97 recommendations will be announced in August. |
