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Introduction and Aims: The Northern Territory Government has recently planned and implemented an extensive suite of alcohol harm minimisation policies, including the reintroduction of the Banned Drinker Register (BDR). It is an explicit alcohol supply reduction measure that places persons who consume alcohol at harmful levels onto a register, prohibiting the purchase of alcohol from take‐away liquor outlets. This paper explores industry stakeholders' perspectives regarding the extent to which the BDR is meeting its objectives to improve community health and safety by reducing alcohol‐related harms. Design and Methods: Interviews and one focus group were conducted with 66 alcohol industry stakeholders from urban and remote locations. Focusing on outcomes both central (crime and safety) and peripheral (health and therapeutic support) to the stakeholders' interest, the authors used inductive thematic analysis to examine participants' perceptions about the effectiveness of the BDR. Results: Analysis revealed mixed views about the effectiveness of the BDR. There is a tension between the objective to address public amenity and decrease crime, as expressed by the participants, compared to the health‐focused approach to therapeutic services and referrals identified in other sources. Discussion and Conclusions: Drawing on these findings, alongside other relevant sources, the authors argue there is a need for a more effective communication strategy to the public and professional community to enhance the capacity of the BDR to meet its goals. The authors recognise the limitations of alcohol industry stakeholder views and identify the need for a comprehensive evaluation approach that includes multiple stakeholder perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archaeology in Oceania is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Amid a renewed push to extract water for agriculture and mining, Indigenous advocacy in northern Australia has resulted in the introduction of a new water allocation mechanism: a reserve of water to be retained for the use and benefit of Indigenous communities. Our socio‐legal analysis of the Oolloo Water Allocation Plan shows that the Strategic Aboriginal Water Reserves carry essential hallmarks of neoliberal property relations and are founded in the modernist mode of regulating extracted water as a commodity divisible from land, amenable to partitioning and disarticulated from socio‐cultural relations. Informed by ethnographic material from the Daly River region gathered over almost a century, we describe the hydro‐social relations that are created through customary traditions and practices, water planning and licencing, and the interaction between different scales of water movement and decision‐making by both the state and Traditional Owners. The paper contributes in several ways to research that has identified ontological conflicts as central to disagreements over water and pointed to the difficulty of articulating theoretical framings of ontological difference with the practical work of water negotiations. It shows how the new Indigenous water rights discourse that coincided with the commodification of water in wider Australia shaped the way in which Aboriginal people of this region have more recently articulated their relationships to the Daly River and the limits to state recognition of those relationships. We find that the Reserve model is unable to recognize the capacity of water to connect and unify people and other beings, as well as to define boundaries between them. Within a regime that facilitates resource extraction, a limited opening has been created for Aboriginal people to benefit from this model of economic development, yet we argue that there is reason to fear that the divisions the Aboriginal Water Reserve enacts between waters and land presents significant socio‐cultural risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The Northern Territory Neonatal Emergency Transport Service (NETS NT) pilot was created in April 2018 to expedite the transfer of critically unwell neonates to specialised interstate centres. The aim of this paper is to describe long‐distance retrievals undertaken during the first 3 years of operation of the service. Methods: A case series is described comprising neonates requiring long‐distance aeromedical transfer (>2500 km) by NETS NT between April 2018 and June 2021. Data were obtained from hospital and transport service documentation. This was supplemented by four semi‐structured interviews with transport staff. Results: Thirty neonates were transferred via NETS NT during the investigation period, including 19 transfers >2500 km. Of these, 18/19 (94.7%) required respiratory support, 8/19 (42.1%) were intubated and 4/19 (21.1%) required inotropic support. The average length of transport was 7.5 h (5.6–8.9). Twelve patients had in‐flight documentation available. Eight required increased oxygen administration 8/12 (66.6%). The median change in FiO2 was an increase of 0.02 (−0.05 to 0.45). Conclusions: The NETS NT has been successfully established to transport high‐risk neonates to interstate quaternary health services when required. Future recommendations for the service include ongoing implementation of systems and processes to strengthen all aspects of governance and operations using suitably adapted resources from established Australian retrievals services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous youth living in Alice Springs are subject to routine forms of surveillance, facilitated by a range of stakeholders, including police, security guards, government agents, business owners and members of their own communities. 'The problem' of youth is the subject of much attention in media and community forums as well as Northern Territory specific legislation, resulting in increased levels of policing in town. Drawing on recently collected fieldwork data, this paper explores some of the nuances in the relationships through which these processes of surveillance are enacted. Encounters observed and described by young people themselves are often at once both intimate and oppressive. This paper will first explore recent policy approaches and then focus on some examples of youth experiences with policing to outline some of the ways in which young people navigate and resist surveillance in Alice Springs. Understanding youth experiences of surveillance and policing enables a distinctive perspective on a shifting social world, and offers insight into contemporary forms of disadvantage faced by Indigenous youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Whitlam Labor government (1972–75) is remembered for ushering in a new era in Indigenous affairs, with the move to "self‐determination", abandoning the longstanding insistence on "assimilation". The new government intended to deploy the Commonwealth's new legislative power established in the 1967 constitutional referendum to bring in a range of reforms, responding to consistent demands from Indigenous leaders, activists, and supporters through the previous decade. Whitlam's campaign speech promised anti‐discrimination legislation, provisions to allow Aboriginal communities to incorporate, and legislation of a system of land tenure. The government faced considerable political obstacles, ultimately curbing the ambitious reform agenda. Nevertheless, these initial efforts to conceptualise representation, recognition, and compensation laid important foundations for the current public debate about "Voice, Treaty, Truth", following the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This paper explores self‐determination through the path‐breaking work of the Woodward Aboriginal Land Rights Commission and the establishment of well‐resourced land councils as authoritative and legitimate representatives of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. The Whitlam government's willingness to experiment with power‐sharing in the sensitive area of land ownership provided a valuable prototype for genuine engagement with First Nations people today, as Australia contemplates the failure of the constitutional referendum around a Voice to parliament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Culturally safe and meaningful cognitive assessment methods for use with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are scarce. Concerns are raised regarding the efficacy of existing methods in cross‐cultural contexts. The Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) Assessment offers a person‐centred alternative whereby cognitive strategy application is examined during performance of culturally relevant everyday tasks. This paper explores its use with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. Methods: A critical case study design was applied to examine the effectiveness and relevance of the PRPP Assessment with two Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory of Australia. 'Ivan' and 'Jean' were each receiving occupational therapy through a rehabilitation service over a 6‐month period following acquired brain injuries. Ivan and Jean were assessed performing everyday tasks of interest and importance to them as part of routine care. A partnership approach was adopted throughout the process, and both consented to their stories being told. Results: The PRPP Assessment was able to measure changes in Ivan's and Jean's cognitive strategy use and its impact on performance of meaningful tasks. Ivan demonstrated a 46% increase in performance mastery and a 29% increase in cognitive strategy use with most improvements identified in his ability to sense information, initiate action, and continue performance. Jean demonstrated a 71% increase in performance mastery and a 32% increase in cognitive strategy use. Her greatest improvements were in the ability to recall schemes, self‐evaluate, and initiate action. Conclusion: The two critical case stories shared in this study suggest that the PRPP Assessment has emerging evidence of clinical utility when used with Aboriginal people with acquired brain impairment. The information gained revealed strengths in performance; it was effective in measuring change in cognitive strategy use, was able to inform the goal setting process, and guided intervention to support cognitive strategy use during task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Contemporary Indigenous cultural fire management facilitates opportunities for Indigenous peoples to connect to and manage their Country, as well as providing scope for research. Right‐way science is defined as collaborative process of bringing Indigenous and Western scientific knowledge and methods together to create ethical, productive and mutually beneficial research. Five key requirements of right‐way science emerge from the literature, including: building relationships and trust; formal research approval processes; co‐development of research; acknowledging challenges; and ethical, productive and mutually beneficial research. This article explores the question: how can right‐way science enhance Indigenous cultural fire management? By reflecting on research collaborations between Western scientists and Indigenous ranger groups of New South Wales (Banbai) and the Northern Territory (Yugul Mangi), this paper, firstly, describes the methods we used to explore right‐way science around cultural fire management. Secondly, it synthesises key findings of the research projects, including how we addressed the five key requirements of right‐way science elicited from the literature. Thirdly, we provide insight on how right‐way science can be applied more broadly to enhance Indigenous cultural fire management. We found that increasing opportunities for Indigenous peoples to care for their Country, supported by right‐way science, places them in a unique position to contribute to solving some of the ongoing challenges and research questions associated with fire management. Western scientists have an important role to play, as supporters and followers of Indigenous research partners, and advocates of right‐way science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the world, policymakers, legislators, marine managers, and indigenous peoples have attempted to reconcile marine protected area (MPA) governance and management with indigenous peoples' ancient and ongoing traditional ownership of coastal and marine environments. This paper describes a novel approach in Australia to addressing this challenge through indigenous‐led planning and collaborative governance of holistic coastal land and sea indigenous protected areas (IPAs) based on the indigenous concept of "Country"—traditional land and sea estates and their associated cultural, environmental, and other values.To provide context to this approach, the paper explains the concept of "Sea Country" and provides an overview of the relationship between indigenous peoples and Australia's coastal and marine environments, the legal and policy recognition of Indigenous Sea Country rights and interests, and the engagement of indigenous people in the governance and management of government‐led, legislated MPAs in Australia.The paper then describes the evolution of IPAs from being specifically based on indigenous land tenure to being based more generally on Indigenous Country, across multiple tenures, including marine areas. In recent years, IPAs based on Country have enabled indigenous people to lead planning and governance of land and sea areas over which they have limited legal rights, including over existing national parks and marine parks. Using this approach, some IPAs complement existing protected area governance and management arrangements, whereas elsewhere Country‐based IPAs are adding significantly to Australia's MPA estate. The Dhimurru IPA in the Northern Territory and Girringun Region IPAs in Queensland are presented as examples of this Country‐based approach.This indigenous‐driven, collaborative, nonlegislative approach to dedicating, governing and managing coastal areas and MPAs may serve as a model in other nation states for indigenous people wishing to use a protected area governance framework to support the contemporary management of their traditional marine and coastal estates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) can have a lower cardiac reserve to cope with pregnancy and labour, leading to increased obstetric and cardiac risks. The Northern Territory has been repeatedly reported to have the highest prevalence of RHD in Australia, yet evidence specific to pregnancy is scarce in the literature. Aims: The primary aim of this paper is to describe the baseline characteristics and maternal outcomes of pregnant women with RHD presenting to the largest obstetrics referral hospital in the Northern Territory. The secondary aim is to evaluate the current model of care in relation to their cardiac status. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted over a 9.5‐year period. Demographics, cardiac, obstetrics and anaesthetics data were collected for analysis. Results: One hundred and twenty‐nine pregnancies were included for analysis. All women were identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and 85% were of a RHD priority of 2 or 3. Of all 28 patients who had an emergency caesarean section, only one patient was indicated for cardiac reasons. There was no maternal or neonatal death reported. Three preterm births were induced secondary to maternal concerns related to RHD cardiac decompensation. There were no major adverse neonatal outcomes, including neonatal death, intraventricular haemorrhage or respiratory distress syndrome. Multidisciplinary care was also evaluated. Conclusion: We observed a low rate of maternal and fetal morbidity and no mortality in a cohort of women with mild to severe RHD. These favourable outcomes have occurred in a multidisciplinary centre with significant experience in managing the medical and cultural complexities of this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report on the frequency of false onsets of wet season rainfall in the case of the Northern Australian wet season and investigate the role of large‐scale tropical climate processes such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and Madden–Julian Oscillation. A false onset occurs when a wet season rainfall onset criterion is met, but follow‐up rainfall is not received for weeks or months later. Our analysis of wet season rainfall data from 1950 through 2020 shows a false onset occurs, on average, between 20 and 30% of wet seasons across all of northern Australia. This increases at a regional and local level such as at Darwin, the Northern Territory (NT), and parts of Queensland's north coast to over 50%. Seasonal climate influences, such as a La Niña pattern and a negative IOD that typically expedite the wet season rainfall onset, also increase the likelihood of a false onset over northern Australia. Our analysis also finds that periods of false onsets can sometimes, but not always, coincide with periods of rapid soil moisture depletion. The false rainfall onsets that develop into flash drought can be potentially disruptive and costly and are of potential significance for agriculture and fire management in northern Australia, and in other monsoonal climates that also typically experience a slow build‐up to the seasonal monsoon. In conclusion, effective rainfall indicates that many seasons experience 'false onsets' with dry conditions after early rainfall. We propose that false onsets are a physical characteristic of the climate of northern Australia which occurs with relatively high frequency. In addition, these false onsets may sometimes co‐occur with a flash drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 15 years, international climate policy and governance practice have shifted from a linear model of carbon emissions management to a circular model. Whereas the former primarily focused on reducing absolute emissions, the latter focuses on balancing emissions sources and sinks. Australia, a major global exporter of 'old' carbon resources such as coal, has actively embraced circular carbon policies and their related 'new' carbon resources such as carbon credits. Focusing on Australia's Northern Territory as a site of old and new carbon economies, where government administrators have actively sought to host carbon circulations and loops, this paper examines three interlinked cases to illustrate the interdependencies generated through circular carbon policies. Identifying how sources, sinks, and the mediation of relations between them all constitute key contemporary carbon frontiers, we conclude by calling for a research agenda that analyses 'old' and 'new' carbon economies as a co‐produced assemblage rather than as isolated zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2019, members of Willowra community marched on the local police station in protest against the police shooting of Kumunjayi Walker at Yuendumu. Expressing solidarity with family at Yuendumu, individuals breached the barbwire fence of the vacant police compound. Unlike settlements such as Yuendumu, which have had resident police for decades, Willowra police station is 1 of 18 Northern Territory 'Taskforce Themis' stations set up as a temporary measure during the 2007 Intervention. Although the police presence is recent and inconstant, Lander Warlpiri Anmatyerr people have long experienced the agonistic effects of police authority in their region—beginning in 1928 with the gunning down of their relatives by Constable Murray and his accomplices during the Coniston Massacre. No charges were laid against these murderers, a reflection of the moral economy and 'politics of life' of settler society at the time. Although policies have changed, the past reverberates in the present, as people find creative ways to survive the effects of totalising state institutions and punitive regimes. Furthermore, while locals might back a police presence at Willowra, they continue to assert the importance of Warlpiri Law. This paper reflects upon narratives and events that illuminate local perceptions of police and their role in the community over time. In the course of this account, the focus shifts from policing to people's hopes that unbearable situations might improve, as they use shields both as object and metaphor to deflect the weapons of the state and maintain the Warlpiri socio‐moral order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Aims: Liquor permits were once used throughout Scandinavia and North America for managing alcohol, but largely disappeared in the late 20th century. Today, they are used in some Indigenous communities in Nunavut, Canada and the Northern Territory, Australia. This paper examines the extent to which liquor permits: (i) contribute to reducing alcohol-related harms in Indigenous communities; and (ii) offer a viable mechanism for managing alcohol in Indigenous communities.Design and Methods: The study draws on published and unpublished international literature on liquor permit systems in Indigenous communities, and on field visits to northern territory (NT) communities.Results: Apart from one anecdotal report, the study found no evidence that liquor permit systems in Nunavut communities have reduced alcohol-related problems. In the NT, they have reduced alcohol-related harms in some communities. However, management of liquor permit systems generates significant administrative demands in communities.Discussion and Conclusions: Effectiveness of liquor permit systems is a product of five factors: permits themselves; agencies and procedures for issuing and managing permits; agencies and procedures for supplying liquor; enforcement of permit conditions, and the presence of other agencies-legal and illegal-affecting supply and consumption of liquor. Liquor permits continue to be valued by some Indigenous communities for managing alcohol. This study suggests that they can do so provided: (i) agencies administering permits have adequate support; (ii) controls over non-legal purchasing and consumption of liquor are effective, and (iii) the permit system is viewed in the community as legitimate, equitable and transparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The need for more Remote Area Nurses in the Northern Territory is clear. This paper investigates the perspectives of Remote Area Nurse workforce issues among multiple stakeholders. The aim is to identify how Remote Area Nurse staffing issues are perceived by clinic managers, Remote Area Nurses themselves, Aboriginal colleagues and community members in seven remote communities in the Northern Territory. Design: This is a qualitative study that uses interviews and focus groups to identify key messages of local stakeholders about Remote Area Nurse workforce issues. A content analysis was used for data analysis. Setting: Seven diverse remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory with government‐run health clinics were visited. Participants: Non‐random sampling techniques were used to target staff at the clinics at the time of field work. Staff and community members, who agreed to participate, were interviewed either individually or in groups. Interviews were conducted with 5 Managers, 29 Remote Area Nurses, 12 Aboriginal staff (some clinics did not have Aboriginal staff) and 56 community residents. Twelve focus groups were conducted with community members. Results: Content analysis revealed that participants thought having the "right" nurse was more important than having more nurses. Participants highlighted the need for Remote Area Nurses to have advanced clinical and cultural skills. While managers and, to a lesser extent, Remote Area Nurses prioritised clinical skills, Aboriginal staff and community residents prioritised cultural skills. Conclusions: Participants identified the importance of clinical and cultural skills and reiterated that getting the "right" Remote Area Nurse was more important than simply recruiting more nurses. Thus, retention strategies need to be more targeted and cultural skills prioritised in recruitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP), urinary incontinence, and infertility are all prevalent conditions associated with considerable reduction in quality of life. As a group, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women may be at higher risk of these conditions, but studies are scarce.Objective: To review the literature pertaining to the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of these conditions in Indigenous Australian women.Search Strategy: Medline, Embase, and Scopus were searched for articles published between 1980 and 2021 pertaining to these conditions in Indigenous Australian women.Selection Criteria: Studies that did not directly address the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of these conditions were excluded.Main Results: It was possible to identify only 11 papers dealing with these conditions in Indigenous Australian women. Only one dealt with POP and was a retrospective audit of a health outreach program in the Northern Territory concluding that there was significant underreporting of the condition. Five papers dealt with urinary incontinence and, again, described significant underreporting and poor referral pathways. Five papers reported small studies about infertility, one reporting poor engagement from clinical directors.Conclusion: It was concluded that despite the importance of these conditions, there is almost no body of research and this is an urgent national problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archaeology in Oceania is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In an effort to tackle the exceptionally high level of alcohol consumption in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, there are a suite of alcohol policies and new legislation that have been introduced. These include restricted purchasing and consumption for certain individuals. In 2017, the Banned Drinker Register (BDR) was (re)introduced – a policy that involves placing persons who consume alcohol at harmful levels to themselves or others onto a register which prohibits the purchase of alcohol from take‐away liquor outlets. As a result, there is an incentive for banned drinkers to obtain alcohol through friends, family, and through the black market – referred to as secondary supply. Though the phenomenon of secondary supply is not new, the recent evaluation of the BDR highlighted a number of challenges of tackling the secondary supply of alcohol. Informed by Head's framework for assessing 'wicked' policy problems, this policy analysis uses data from interviews with stakeholders undertaken as part of two studies on alcohol policy and services. The findings present the limitations of the policy design and implementation context in preventing secondary supply of alcohol to banned drinkers. The paper concludes with implications for policy and research that better recognise the implementation context. Drawing on analysis of qualitative interviews with stakeholders, the findings illustrate how policy instruments and implementation context create an environment in which addressing secondary supply through the Banned Drinker Register is complex, posing a 'wicked' problem for policy makers and implementers. It concludes with implications for policy and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In remote Indigenous communities, people with end stage kidney disease have limited access to dialysis services and the vast majority of patients contend with urban displacement in order to access treatment. Through ethnographic encounters with Yolŋu renal patients and other actors in Northern Territory healthcare systems, this paper explores how the threats posed by end stage kidney disease are multiply conceptualised and imbued with different forms of moral and political value. Drawing on Mary Douglas' cultural theory of risk, I consider how Yolŋu, health professionals and health policymakers construct topographies of safety and danger. I argue that medical risk is deployed in Northern Territory healthcare systems to perform the 'dirty work' of governing uncertainties and threats to renal patients' health and of distributing treatment amongst patients and over space. The 'dirty work' of medical risk recasts questions of value and the distribution of resources into matters of safety and liability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistent underperformance of public policy and program implementation in Aboriginal affairs is widely recognised. We analysed the results of two case studies of attempted reforms in public administration of Aboriginal primary health care in the Northern Territory, using a framework based on the institutionalist and systemic racism literatures, with the aim of better understanding the sources of implementation failure. Implementation of the agreed reforms was unsuccessful. Contributing factors were as follows: strong recognition of the need for change was not sustained; the seeds of change, present in the form of alternative practices, were not built on; there was a notable absence of sustained political/bureaucratic authorisation; and, interacting with all of these, systemic racism had important consequences and implications. Our framework was useful for making sense of the results. It is clear that reforms in Aboriginal affairs will require government authorities to engage with organisations and communities. We conclude that there are four requirements for improved implementation success: clear recognition of the need for change in 'business as usual'; sustainable commitment and authorisation; the building of alternative structures and methods to enable effective power sharing (consistent with the requirements of parliamentary democracy); and addressing the impact of systemic racism on decision‐making, relationships, and risk management. Improved public administration in Aboriginal affairs is needed, but there is no consensus on how. This paper presents an institutionalist analysis of the required shifts in settings, habits, and structures used by government authorities charged with implementing change, and offers insights into how they might become more successful reformers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electoral success of independents and minor parties is often interpreted as indicating a weakening of two‐party systems of political competition. This paper, on all thirteen elections for the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 1974, observes that independents have enjoyed far more success than minor parties. It argues that independent success has reflected a continuing strong two‐party system, not a weakening one. Six of ten successful independents in NTLA elections have been "splitters" from the Country Liberal Party in times of intra‐party turmoil. Their subsequent electoral success as independents in divisions previously very safe for the CLP leads to development of a "lopsided seats" hypothesis; that independents succeed in electoral divisions where the two‐party contest has become lopsided, with one major party attracting twice the votes of the other or more. Two successful "non‐splitter" independents in the 2016 election also contested such divisions — one lopsided to the CLP and one to Labor. This latter successful independent ran with the support of a Yolgnu First Nation organisation, which re‐opens questions in the literature about Aboriginal candidates and Aboriginal voters, including turnout levels. A jurisdiction‐wide graphic technique of "proportionality profiling" is applied to all thirteen NTLA elections and contextualises the later division‐level analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous children in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia have the highest school non-attendance rates and the lowest literacy and numeracy outcomes in Australia. The NT Department of Health and Families classifies failure to send children to school as neglect, and as such, a form of child abuse. This paper contends that the failure to provide children with learning opportunities by a lack of insistence by authorities on attendance is a form of systemic neglect. It suggests that an educative approach is required to lead rather than coerce students into attending school, encouraging maximum participation in learning experiences that bridge cultural landscapes, and is inviting, inclusive and informed. The purpose of this paper is to recommend changes to ongoing systemic neglect of school truancy by examining models that build an Indigenous teaching staff and in so doing, integrate culturally responsive teaching with systemic support to produce a 'school attending' culture. Ethics approval for this paper has been sought and approved from the NT Catholic Education Office. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public opinion polling shows that Australians have long supported legalising assisted dying, but this has not generally led to legislative success. Since 1993, Australian parliament have considered legalising assisted dying over 50 times, with only two attempts being successful: Northern Territory in 1995 and Victoria in 2017. This paper describes the Northern Territory and Victorian legislation and the processes associated with the passage of the legislation in both jurisdictions. It suggests that one of the factors that contributed to the Victorian outcome was the extensive consultation involved prior to the introduction of the legislation into parliament. Political factors – including government support – also facilitated the legislation's passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gross Product of the Northern Territory accounts for approximately 1.2% of Australian GDP. The economic growth record of NT in the past few years has been well below all Australian states and territories but the per capita income of NT remains higher than the national per capita income. Due to continued interstate migration, higher birth rate among the indigenous population and the inability of NT to attract international migrants, the Territory's population mix is slowly changing. This paper shows that the NT's economic growth rate is closely linked to the growth rate of labour force and private investment. Although the overall labour force participation-rate is almost unchanged, the male and female participation rates are moving in the opposite direction. Finally, the paper presents short-term forecasts for NT's Gross State Product per person employed, private investment and employment. The forecasting exercise shows that the cyclical pattern is likely to continue in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Northern Territory Living With Alcohol Programme (LWAP), implemented in Australia from 1991 to 2000, has been hailed as a successful example of a comprehensive public health alcohol policy, especially in its first 4 years--1991/92 to 1995/96. This paper draws upon a policy analysis of the LWAP currently in progress to identify and describe the factors that made implementation possible at this time. I argue that programme implementation was shaped by a remarkable alignment of agencies and actors in the political, fiscal, administrative and industrial domains. This alignment of forces, however, owed as much to contingency as to planning and did not endure. Although the policy itself remained unchanged and continued to generate significant achievements, the alignment of forces sustaining it began to fragment from late 1995 onwards. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of the analysis for alcohol policy in other domains, and for the relationship between evidence regarding effectiveness and other components of the policy process. [d'Abbs P. Alignment of the policy planets: behind the implementation of the Northern Territory (Australia) Living With Alcohol Programme. Drug Alcohol Rev 2004;23:55-66] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conference paper about public administration discussed at the Institute of Public Administration Australia's Annual Conference in Darwin, Northern Territory in September 1991 is presented. It introduces a series of papers addressing the economic aspects of international public sector operations. It examines the mutual impact of Australian public sector enterprises overseas. It also identifies activities by Australian enterprises such as transport, trading and finance.

A recent Lancet publication reported the substantial and largely unmet health needs of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) adolescents; needs that we have been working tirelessly to address in the Northern Territory. In order to improve health outcomes for Indigenous adolescents, we must create health systems responsive to their needs. This paper focuses on changes made at Royal Darwin Hospital, which continue to improve the quality of care for this group. We describe these changes here, to celebrate the gains made and ultimately, we hope, to help address the health of Indigenous adolescents more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chloride mass balance (CMB) method is widely used to estimate long‐term rates of groundwater recharge. In regions where surface water runoff is negligible, recharge can be estimated using measurements of chloride concentrations of groundwater and precipitation, and an estimate of long‐term average rainfall. This paper presents the Chloride Mass Balance Estimator of Australian Recharge (CMBEAR), a Jupyter (Python) Notebook that is set up to rapidly apply the CMB method using gridded maps of chloride deposition rates across the Australian continent. For an Australian context, the chloride deposition rate and rainfall maps have been provided. Thus, CMBEAR requires only a spreadsheet with the groundwater chloride concentration, the latitude and longitude of the sample location, and some simple user inputs. CMBEAR may be easily applied in other regions, providing that a gridded chloride deposition map is available. Recharge estimates from CMBEAR are compared against published applications of the CMB method. CMBEAR is also applied to a large dataset from the Northern Territory and is used to produce a gridded map of recharge for western Victoria. CMBEAR provides a reproducible and straightforward approach to apply the CMB method to estimate groundwater recharge. Article impact statement: Python tool presented that provides an automated and reproducible approach to recharge estimation using the chloride mass balance method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Australian democratic nation there are towns where the citizens are governed by administrations that have not been democratically elected by the residents. These unique residential centres are termed 'special purpose towns' that can be transformed to a permanent community governed by a democratic structure through a process termed normalisation. This paper examines the special purpose mining town of Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory of Australia, which is on the cusp of the normalisation process. The paper outlines the similarities and differences of local government roles and responsibilities with Australian towns or shires that have publicly elected executive members. How Indigenous people are facilitating the normalisation of Nhulunbuy, through cultural perceptions of opportunity, is discussed. A concluding focus challenges well established conventional frameworks endorsing the roles of governments and miners in the normalisation phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper reports on findings related to intersectoral collaboration stemming from an evaluation of a dementia awareness resource for use in remote Aboriginal communities*. The resource includes a DVD in English and three (3) Aboriginal languages of the Northern Territory. Design: A qualitative evaluation was conducted in four Northern Territory Aboriginal communities/organisations where the resource had been implemented by external dementia educators. The method included five focus groups with Indigenous aged care workers, community members and aged care service users ( n = 26), individual interviews with health care professionals and service coordinators ( n = 5), and observation. Data were analysed thematically. Results: Specific findings relating to intersectoral collaboration as a key enabling factor of effective dementia awareness and care are discussed in this paper. In addition to context variables such as understaffing and under-resourcing, there might be a lack of knowledge or interest on the part of some health practitioners concerning clients with dementia within remote communities. Conclusion: Dementia awareness in remote communities needs to be tackled from a 'whole system' perspective and not be the exclusive domain of the aged care services. Strategies that increase the critical mass of informed caregivers as well as health professionals will contribute to better services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Indigenous people in the poorest developing countries of the world confront the most severe hardships, nevertheless even in the most developed countries such as Australia, Indigenous standards of living in terms of economic, educational and basic human standards are far inferior to other groups within society. It has been argued that Indigenous affairs in Australia is divided into 'two ideological tribes' both vigorously opposed with respect to the preferred manner in which the substantial disadvantage of Indigenous Australians can be overcome. Although more complex categorisations of ideological positions are possible, both maintain considerable influence within the field of Indigenous policy formulation in Australia and in the Northern Territory in particular, where nearly 30 per cent of the total population is Indigenous. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the central arguments advanced by these two sides of the debate and the implications for public policy decision making and Indigenous people, within the context of the Northern Territory of Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim in this paper is to examine the ways in which electronic gaming machines (EGMs) redistribute resources to and from three remote towns in the Northern Territory (NT), namely Katherine, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy. We describe EGM expenditure levels in each town at the level of the individual venue, examine patterns of socioeconomic status within each town, explore the ways in which EGM markets are racialised through venue gate-keeping practices and spatially-based alcohol regulations, and examine the effects of resource redistribution mechanisms designed to return a proportion of EGM profits to host communities. The ability of venues to draw resources from extremely disadvantaged groups from the remote periphery is of central concern when attempting to assess the societal consequences of gambling in remote towns, both in terms of individual harm and the adequacy of resource redistribution. Existing mechanisms for resource redistribution are both selective and relatively meagre, pointing to a political and racial economy of EGM gambling that transfers resources from remote towns to sites of centralised 'white' power. We conclude that political economy in the context of remote NT towns may not be understood outside a consideration of racial economy and the way that constructed notions of race operate to legitimate existing processes of economic exploitation and resource redistribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to recent debates about whether urban policy discourses are transferable and what is at stake in their translation. It draws on discussion of Darwin (Northwest Territory, Australia), a tropical savanna location that the local government wants to promote as a ‘creative city’, without quite knowing what this might require. We discuss relevant debates on research knowledge construction, the creative city and the path-dependent character of neoliberal governmental objectives. We then turn to the geographical, demographic and cultural characteristics that make Darwin a challenging and distinct context for translation of global theories of creative city rejuvenation. As well as arguing a case for more nuanced, locationally specific, analysis of the capacity of places to embrace travelling policy discourses, we suggest ways in which creative city research can be refreshed through engaging with literatures on (post)colonial urban politics and intersections with policy initiatives other than those targeted at ‘creative industries’ per se. We systematically outline the particular challenges that tropical cities in remote locations provide to accepted wisdom about creativity-led urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore processes of learning through a focus on relationships. Situated within the context of our research on educational tourism with Indigenous tour operators in the Northern Territory, we examine the relationships built between three groups: ourselves, Indigenous tour operators and undergraduate university students. We develop a conceptualisation of teaching and research as an interwoven learning exchange characterised by multi-directional learning experiences within which all collaborators teach, research and learn. By viewing all contributors, including ourselves, as active and multiple situated co-learners, we begin a process of recognising and reconfiguring power relationships. We reflect on how an interwoven learning exchange may bring new subjectivities into being through transformed research-teaching relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores variation and change in Aboriginal people's connections to places, and place-related identity, as a function of their differential historical relationship to a town. Among Aboriginal people who have lived for some decades in camps around Katherine, Northern Territory, descendants of those who appear to have the most clearly discernible long-term relationship with the area in the vicinity of the town do not relate to places, nor conceptualise them, in stereotypically 'traditional' terms. Their relationships to town and nearby places tend to be of an ideologically unelaborated, homely sort. Kinds of territorial relationships their antecedents can be shown to have had to the area have undergone dissolution. The paper seeks to develop discussion of such variation and the historical and sociological processes involved. The Katherine case brings the social and historical significance of 'towns' as sites of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal interrelationship into focus, and also requires a critical view of notions of 'group' that have tended to dominate recent public process and understanding in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the importance—and provides an example—of Aboriginal control over research. It describes how Aboriginal people from Tangentyere Council conducted a survey of the attitudes of people who reside in Town Camps to a trial of liquor licensing restrictions in Alice Springs; how the results of the survey were used; and how the project led to the establishment of a permanent ‘Research Hub’ within Tangentyere Council. The paper provides a model of conducting research for other Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and can inform non-Aboriginal researchers about ways of working with Aboriginal community organisations to address substance misuse and other health problems. [Foster D, Williams R, Campbell D, Davis V, Pepperill L. ‘Researching ourselves back to life’: new ways of conducting Aboriginal alcohol research . Drug Alcohol Rev 2006;25:213 – 217] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health consequences of kava abuse in Arnhem Land Aboriginal populations in the Northern Territory (NT) and the persistence of an illegal kava trade with its associated social harms have been a cause for concern for 20 years. Despite these concerns, some Arnhem Land groups seek to continue using kava and to control its sale, distribution and the profits from the enterprise. In response, policy makers in the NT have embraced principles of harm reduction and created regulatory mechanisms to address broader public concerns and to support local management of kava supply while reinforcing control over the consequences of its use. This paper describes the kava regulatory system now being implemented in the NT which features kava management plans developed in consultation between Aboriginal communities and licensing authorities. It complements the earlier Harm Reduction Digest 9 by McDonald & Jowitt which looked at Kava in the South Pacific. Simon Lenton Editor, Harm Reduction Digest [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate about the effects and public health importance of the way Aboriginal people drink kava has been confounded by claims, based on anecdote, of imputed health effects. Anecdote and comment have promoted the perception that dosage levels among Aboriginal people are much greater than in Pacific island societies. In this paper we review published data about kava consumption, and evaluate it with respect to information collected from observation of one Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land (Northern Territory) where people tend to consume kavaat a steady tempo; 37g of kava powder containing around 3800mg of kava lactones in 670ml of water in an hour. The highest levels of consumption in Arnhem Land have been reported to be up to 900g/week of kava powder with heavy consumers drinking at least 610g/week, levels comparable to estimates for Pacific-island societies. The significance of a steady drinking tempo means that an individual's weekly kava consumption relates directly to the amount of time spent drinking which, in turn, is correlated with categories of social setting of drinking (p < 0.0002). Lone drinkers appear to be the heaviest users while lowest consumption takes place in private domestic situations, where people enjoy kava as part of family group activities. Surrogates of consumption levels may be found in local socio-economic circumstances. This approach may be useful when more direct measurement of consumption is difficult or impossible. [Clough AR, Burns CB, Mununggurr N. Kava in Arnhem Land: a review of consumption and its social correlates. Drug Alcohol Rev 2000;19:319-328]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses data from 471 domestic and international visitors to Katherine, Northern Territory as to their levels of interest in Aboriginal tourism products. It finds that although 40% of visitors do have an interest in Aboriginal culture, for the great majority such an interest is part of a wider interest in the Northern Territory as a whole. There is little evidence that tourists might be described as ‘amateur anthropologists’—rather their interest is related to other aspects of the Territory, such as its landscape, flora and fauna, and opportunities for outback adventure. Additionally, it is argued that evidence emerges of some tourists re-evaluating natural settings from an Aboriginal perspective. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lethal jellyfish envenoming is a very rare event. Two illustrative cases of fatalities following envenomation from the multi‐tentacled box jellyfish, Chironex fleckeri, are reported that involved a six‐year‐old boy and a three‐year‐old girl, both of whom had been playing in shallow beach waters in remote Northern Territory communities (Australia). A recommended approach to autopsy in suspected cases is described, which should include examination of the clothing and skin surfaces for the fine tentacles of Chironex fleckeri. In addition, the combined length and maximum width of tentacle marks should be measured/calculated and collection of unfixed tentacles with adhesive tape onto a glass slide should be undertaken to check for nematocysts. Such rare cases show that children are at higher risk of a lethal outcome, particularly if they are resident in remote coastal tropical communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conference paper about public administration discussed at the Institute of Public Administration Australia's Annual Conference in Darwin, Northern Territory in September 1991 is presented. It discusses the impact of multiculturalism on public administration and uses economic analysis to challenge multicultural policy in Australia. It accuses governments, public administrators and interest groups of hiding the true essence of multiculturalism.

A conference paper about public administration discussed at the Institute of Public Administration Australia's Annual Conference in Darwin, Northern Territory in September 1991 is presented. It calls for public administrators to open themselves to multicultural Australia. It claims that the handling of multiculturalism is a test of public administration's ability and willingness to manage change and diversity in both its problems and benefits.

Current human resource management issues within the Northern Territory Police and the broader Australian policing community include: interservice mobility, lateral entry, civilianisation, police auxiliaries, staff retention, contract and term appointments, the ‘over-educated cop’ syndrome, recruitment criteria, suitable promotional systems, and adequate disciplinary/dismissal powers. The greatest driving force behind efforts by police administrators Australia-wide is the recognition of the need to ‘professionalise’ the occupation of policing and to have this new status recognised by the broader community. The impact of the widespread move to ‘community policing’ is also considerable. This paper identifies an emerging need to satisfy the aspirations and expectations of individuals and the accompanying requirement to adopt a more ‘humanistic’ approach to management. It also highlights the need for a human resource management plan. While many human resource management issues are common to all public authorities, policing is beset with its own unique set of human resource management problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To examine processes of aged-care needs assessment for Aboriginal people in remote central Australia to assist development of appropriate models of aged care. Method A qualitative study involving 11 semistructured interviews with aged-care assessors and two focus groups with Aboriginal community members. Results This paper reports four major themes concerning how needs assessments relate to realities of service delivery: cultural perspectives on aged care, context of service delivery, equity and access to services, and program (mis)alignments. Conclusion Disparities exist between assessment recommendations and service availability, with a potential mismatch between Aboriginal understandings of needs, interpretations by individual assessment staff and program guidelines. Incorporating a conceptual framework, such as the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, into service guidelines to ensure structured consideration of a person's holistic needs may assist, as will building the capacity of communities to provide the level and type of services required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a number challenges to maintaining high-quality policy capacity in sparsely populated areas such as Australia's Northern Territory (e.g. natural resource dependent economy, prominence of Indigenous issues, provision of local services). Moreover, the Territory government has recently been undergoing a host of public sector changes. This paper utilises survey methodologies of policy workers that were recently developed in Canada and examines nine risk factors to policy work. A survey of 119 policy workers in the Northern Territory was conducted in 2013. The analysis examined four key policy-work areas (policy activities, barriers, areas for improved policy capacity, nature of change in work environment). The survey findings offer some practical insights for managers. Formal policy-work training is recognised as critical. Policy capacity may be increased through better inter-departmental (and potentially inter-governmental) cooperation and information sharing, more opportunities to engage with non-governmental stakeholders, and more opportunities for those leaving the full-time Northern Territory policy workforce to continue to contribute. From a conceptual point of view, the extent to which 'policy capacity' as commonly conceived in the literature is applicable to contexts, such as Australia's Northern Territory, warrants further examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the cultural significance of ephemeral public greetings on the highways of Australia's Northern Territory. Despite the exceptional speed at which vehicles pass one another and the fact that such salutations are mostly between travellers who have no acquaintance with one another, few drivers fail to acknowledge the co-presence of others on the highway. The main concern of this account is to detail how this greeting system works, including the diverse meanings which can be attached to participation in it. In conclusion, it is suggested that this is a form of phatic communication which, as Malinowski (1923) said, eschews engagement with weighty economic and political issues, but contributes significantly to a sense of community between those involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This paper aims to assess the barriers and solutions to the delivery of eye care in primary care settings and solutions to improve the use of comprehensive eye care among Indigenous Australians. Design, setting, participants Qualitative, mixed method study participants include Aboriginal community members, and health and eye care providers in urban, rural and remote settings. Main outcome measures Present evidence for health care providers to better understand and address some of the barriers that limit access to eye care in primary care settings. Results Patient perspectives on barriers to accessing eye care and reasons they choose to seek care or not are presented. Health system barriers identified by health and eye care providers are also presented. Additionally, key enablers for improving access to eye care through primary care services are identified. Conclusion Primary health care services have an important role in Indigenous eye health. There is a critical role for primary care in the coordination of the patient journey and cooperating with other services to improve access to comprehensive eye care. Through improved provision of primary eye care, monitoring of Indigenous eye health indicators and supporting patients to access eye care, it is possible to close the gap for vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BROWN D., RICKARD G., MUSTRIWATI K.A. & SEILER J. (2013) International partnerships and the development of a Sister Hospital Program. International Nursing Review 60, 45-51 Background: Despite some progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, there are still major discrepancies in health service provision between developed and developing countries. Nurses are key players to improving the quality of health services. Increasingly, partnerships are being initiated between nurses of different countries to enable those working in developing countries to improve standards of clinical care. Aim: This paper describes a partnership between two major teaching hospitals: one in Indonesia and one in Australia, designed to assist in improving standards of clinical care within the Indonesian hospital. Methods: The nature of the partnership, conceptualized as a Sister Hospital Program, is described. The processes and outcomes of the pilot programme conducted in 2011 are outlined. A brief description of the methods used to gain financial support from the Northern Territory Government is provided. The programme offered a skills development programme for selected staff from Sanglah General Hospital in Bali at Royal Darwin Hospital in northern Australia. Instruments: The paper uses Green's PROCEED-PRECEDE framework both to describe and evaluate the pilot programme. Results: The skills development programme was enthusiastically evaluated by staff from both hospitals and has led to major changes in the management of patients within the Emergency Department of Sanglah General Hospital. The success of the pilot has resulted in longer-term funding by the Australian government. Wider policy outcomes: The partnership model described in the paper is submitted as a possible framework for others wishing to build long-term and collaborative relationships between nurses of different nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The measurement and prediction of soil erosion is important for understanding both natural and disturbed landscape systems. In particular numerical models of soil erosion are important tools for managing landscapes as well as understanding how they have evolved over time. Over the last 40 years a variety of methods have been used to determine rates of soil loss from a landscape and these can be loosely categorized into empirical and physically based models. Alternatively, physically based landscape evolution models (LEMs) have been developed that provide information on soil erosion rates at much longer decadal or centennial scales, over large spatial scales and examine how they may respond to environmental and climatic changes. Both soil erosion LEMs are interested in similar outcomes (landscape development and sediment delivery) yet have quite different methodologies and parameterizations. This paper applies a LEM (the CAESAR model) for the first time at time and space scales where soil erosion models have largely been used. It tests the ability of the LEM to predict soil erosion on a 30 m experimental plot on a trial rehabilitated landform in the Northern Territory, Australia. It then continues to discuss the synergies and differences between soil erosion and LEMs. The results demonstrate that once calibrated for the site hydrology, predicted suspended sediment and bedload yields from CAESAR show a close correspondence in both volume and timing of field measured data. The model also predicts, at decadal scales, sediment loads close to that of field measured data. Findings indicate that the small-scale drainage network that forms within these erosion plots is an important control on the timing and magnitude of sediment delivery. Therefore, it is important to use models that can alter the DEM to reflect changing topography and drainage network as well as having a greater emphasis on channel processes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and Commonwealth of Australia [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an earlier paper, Slee and Keenan demonstrated that it was possible for tertiary education institutions to design culturally responsive assessment procedures that complied with standardised assessment policy. The authors' paper described Growing Our Own, an initiative between Charles Darwin University and Northern Territory Catholic Education, which in 2009 began preparing in situ Indigenous teacher assistants for teacher qualification in very remote schools in the Northern Territory, Australia. The paper demonstrated that the university assessment policy accommodated Indigenous learning, reflecting students' culture, remote learning context, world experience, primary language, family and community values and entry-level competencies. This article is a systemic response to recommendations arising from a recent external evaluation of Growing Our Own and seeks to demonstrate how the project's approaches meet university assessment rules yet fit within a culturally valid framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]