15 May 2006 – An ABCTV Lateline program reports on the abuse of Aboriginal children in NT communities.

22 June 2006 – In response to the Lateline program the Chief Minister of the NT announces the government will establish an inquiry into child sexual abuse in NT Aboriginal communities.

16 June 2007 – Little Children Are Sacred report is presented to the NT Parliament.

21 June 2007 – Howard Government introduces the NTER.

24 November 2007 – Kevin Rudd becomes Prime Minister.

31 March 2008 – Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, releases his Ten Point Action Plan proposal as a way forward for the Australian Government's NTER.

21 June 2008 – One year since the NTER began. Jenny Macklin, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FAHCSIA), announces a new $17.6 million trial over three years. Parents who fail to enrol their children or get them to school regularly will have their income support payments suspended until they fulfil their obligations.

24 July 2008 – Rudd Government announces BasicsCard to manage the income of all Aboriginal Centrelink recipients in the NT.

8 September 2008 – Centrelink begins distributing BasicsCard in the NT.

13 October 2008 – NTER Review Board provides independent review of the first 12 months of the NT Intervention to the Australian Government.

3 April 2009 – Australia supports UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration states that, among other rights, all Aboriginal people have the right to self-determination. The NTER has not given Aboriginal people their right to self-determination. In fact, the Government has told Aboriginal people how to run aspects of their lives. Find out what the Declaration commits Australia to.

21 May 2009 – Federal and NT governments respond to the NTER Review Board recommendations.

25 May 2009 – Federal Government announces proposal to compulsorily acquire Alice Springs town camps.

June-August 2009 – Consultations and workshops run by FaHCSIA with Aboriginal people in the NT about future directions of the NTER.

21 June 2009 – Two years since the NTER began. Protests against the NTER held around Australia.

3 July 2009 – Australian Productivity Commission report reiterates two key points: 1) the need for reliable statistics measuring the effects of government measures, and 2) the importance of community ownership of projects and close consultation between community and government. In the words of the Productivity Commissioner: “The things that work generally work because of co-operative approaches between government and communities”.

14 July 2009 – People from the Ampilatwatja community walk off their land in protest against the NTER ensuring they are no longer subject to the NTER legislation. In August they seek refugee status from the UN as people displaced from their country.

27 August 2009 – UN Rapporteur's statement on the NTER released.