The identity of the perpetrators is well known to police and others. My question to you, Stephen, and Noel Pearson, is: why haven't there been more arrests of these perpetrators? Of course I, and I assume many others, believe that education lies at the heart of changing this culture of dependency, abuse, violence, etc. but the problem has to be addressed in the here and now, not later when the effects of education will be seen. It seems to me that the problem can only be addressed in several phases, and over a long period of time. Of course the children have to be protected now. Having come from a background of (white) violence and abuse I do know the terror that children experience at the hands of perps. I also know the parapace of hopelessness one develops over time when nothing is done and the anger at the proffered excuses for not doing anything. But I have also looked at the underlying causes and wonder how they can be addressed adequately. I too admire Noel Pearson, but I have yet to see him address the underlying long-term issues, which unfortunately must be addressed in tandem.

Noel Pearson would have to be the most respected person in Australia. He is articulate, sincere and does not carry the shroud of victimhood with him.Unlike many of the so called activists, his priorities are for his people, not self aggrandisement.
Noel speaks, Australia listens.

I admire Noel's brain. I think that he has the most amazing brain in Australia today. He demonstrates how much Aboriginal people have to offer our community.

We don't talk enough about the things that Aboriginal people already contribute to our community. I'm thinking of the Aboriginal Centrelink staff who really care for you as an individual. And the Aboriginal Ergon employee who takes the time to talk to you about why you might be feeling dizzy. There are a lot of Aboriginal people out there in the community who are funtioning better than well. Some of them are pretty brilliant at the jobs that they do.

Noel Pearson demonstrates the way in which Aboriginal people have been able to side-step the constricted thoughts and limited vocabulary that most of us have been forced to adopt in our workplaces. The rest of us are being mentally strangled by the demands of the education and employment processes. Aboriginal people don't respond to these demands.

Aboriginal people are a valuable social resource of unconstricted, unapproved, original thoughts.

About time that some more Indigenous commentators were game to come out in support of Pearson, or at least to give him a fair go, rather than simply taking the easy path by playing to the peanut gallery with opportunistic denigration and orthodox left/radical dismissal of his arguments.

It is to Hagan's great credit that he has been game to stick his head up, as I am sure there will be plenty of lazy thinkers and self-satisfied brothers and sisters wheeling out the cannons to line up this black 'traitor' in their sights, whilst they thunder towards oblivion with the rest of the unthinking herd.

As for you, silly old arcticdog, maybe you should go take a dip in an icy fjord. It might cause you to wake up and start thinking more clearly.

The identities of the perpetrators may indeed be known as you allege. But pinning them down is not as easy as you imply.

The lessons from Mutitjulu are that when the victims are very young, impressionable, neglected and immature, and their minds are addled, and the perpetrator is clever and ept at emotional blackmail, and they haven't been getting much schooling, then obtaining evidence that will stand up to cross-examination in court is often next to impossible.

It is ridiculous to claim that Pearson hasn't been addressing the longterm underlying issues: hasn't he declared war on injustice, ignorance, laziness, child neglect, racism, poverty, irresponsibility, dependency, addictions, dispossession, under-development, illiteracy, exploitation, complacency and cant?

What more do you want from the man?

I would hope that no-one is suspicious of this great Australian's convictions. For decades he has carried a largely self-imposed burden of responsibility through an often unforgiving landscape. His task has been enormous and fought against inexorable difficulties; yet he has persevered.

The great shame of his life's work, is that it has yielded such little effect before Australian's (and their elected representatives) were made to suffer the indisputable horror of little children being ravaged as the catalyst for substantive change.

Noel Pearson is one of our most articulate Australians who has probably the most independent voice. On any subject. That's why when he speaks 'Australia listens'.