NOW THAT the federal parliament has formally said “Sorry” to indigenous Australians, I believe we should also be saying “Thanks” as a mark of true respect. All my forebears came to Australia in the early days of settlement. Those who settled outback received enormous help from the Aboriginal people—for which they were deeply appreciative—about things such as sources of drinking water, weather predictions, the location of good grazing land, fishing areas in rivers, methods of conducting efficient preventive burning … They were also warned what to be wary about such as poisonous berries, dangerous snakes and insects. The list goes…