Noel Pearson quotes:

When he breathed he truly was Australia's greatest white elder and friend without peer to the original Australians.

It is time to ask: are we Aborigines a serious people? "¦ Do we have the seriousness necessary to maintain our languages, traditions and knowledge? "¦ The truth is that I am prone to bouts of doubt and sadness around these questions. But I have hope. Our hope is dependent upon education. Our hope depends on how serious we become about the education of our people.