In a field which is often characterised by polemics and hand-wringing, Noel Pearson has emerged as both a considered thinker and an active doer. So when he puts forward a road map through the troubled terrain of race relations, he has earned the right to be heard. It does not hurt that he is an excellent writer as well, able to leaven even an essay about constitutional change with snippets of personal experience and even flashes of humour.