I must begin by declaring my interest with regard to Aboriginal politics. In 1974 as a leftie schoolteacher working at Katherine School of the Air, I helped Vincent Lingiari, Mickey Ringiari, Long Johnny, Philip Nitschke, and a few others, muster their first herd of cleanskins from Wave Hill Station. I became immersed in discussions with the Northern Territory Education Department to allow Aboriginal children based at Wattie Creek to be given access to the radio receivers necessary to enrol at Katherine School of the Air, and also to establish a Government School at Wattie Creek (now Kalkaringi). The following year,…