I appreciate your dignified, forceful demonstration that there is a kind of mainstream way of living in the place called ‘Australia’, that is not represented by the desperate attempts of a newspaper, which is only a few decades old, to cynically boost its circulation; yes, as you say, this negativity is ‘the staple of white society from 1788’.

The amazing strength of Aboriginal Australia, I think, has been its trust in kinship, its love of kin (and, ‘Hi Isabel; I love your grandfather’s devotion to you’); kin which is a network extending beyond people to all the life forces (animals, plants, spirits) vitalising the countries under our feet. This mainstream has been there from day one.

I have learnt from you, Tony, and from Paddy Roe and others, the value of the expression of inclusion. What on earth is the value of dumping on others, especially the vulnerable? Shoring up the value of your in-group? Diminishing returns, the Australian newspaper will die soon for lack of innovation, not to mention imagination.

This amazing multi-species kinship network that has survived colonisation (against white expectations), will survive Leak’s measly attack on the father-son link. You could laugh! He has missed, through ignorance, so many other vital, powerful links to the countries we are starting to, no, continuing to care for after generations of wise custodianship. I am encouraged, despite the damage done (by settler and extraction colonialism), that those who know how to pay attention to what is going on, like you, will be the ones listened to.