[1] Since the end of the 1990s his focus has encompassed a range of additional issues: he has strongly argued that Indigenous policy needs to change direction, notably in relation to welfare, substance abuse, child protection, education and economic development.
[10] On 12 August 2000, Pearson delivered the Ben Chifley Memorial Lecture The light on the hill,[2] with an important statement of his transformed views on Indigenous policy.
[11] On 26 January 2007, Pearson welcomed the decision to prosecute the officer, after the inquiry by Sir Laurence Street found there was sufficient evidence to press charges.
[13][14] On 24 May, Pearson published White guilt, victimhood and the quest for a radical centre, a lengthy account of his understanding of the challenges of policy formulation and enactment.
[20] In November 2014, Pearson received effusive praise for his eulogy[21] for former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, which was hailed in the Australian media as "one of the best political speeches of our time".
[38] It was reported on 20 September 2007 that on 12 August Pearson had brokered a secret meeting between Mal Brough and Northern Territory Indigenous leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu.
[39][40][41][42][43] Yunupingu subsequently reversed his position on the intervention, saying that it has failed and is "It is now three years old but it hasn't made Aboriginal people any richer or healthier or happier.
[48] Pearson argued on 15 December that the sexual abuse of Aboriginal children may be lessened by establishing a "Families Responsibilities Commission" charged with making decisions about whether welfare recipients are fulfilling their obligations.
"[56] The day after Rudd won the election, Labor Senator Penny Wong defended their policy of concentrating on practical rather than symbolic measures, aimed at narrowing the gap between Indigenous and other Australians.
[62] On 14 November 2007, it was reported that Pearson had accused the Queensland government of Anna Bligh, and the federal Labor opposition led by Kevin Rudd, of "selling out Aborigines," saying that a plan to prevent development of the Cape York region was a bid to gain The Greens preferences.
Pearson argued that at the very moment when welfare reform was being attempted in Cape York, economic opportunities for the Aboriginal population would be "shot down" by such a move.
He stated that he felt this legislation, which would make economic development of the river areas difficult or impossible, was an attempt by the Anna Bligh government to maintain close links with the Greens for electoral purposes, and that it ran counter to the interests of the local indigenous population.
She stated that: "This [the question] was a clear reference to what the Nazis did to Jews – the Star of David on their clothing, and of course, later in the death camps, the tattooed numbers on arms.
It was a calculated attack of carefully chosen words, a deliberate low blow directed at Leeser who is a proud man of Jewish faith.
Leeser, who resigned from the Shadow Cabinet to support the Voice whilst remaining in the Liberal Party, later condemned Pearson's comments, saying: "I was very disappointed in Noel's claims.
"[67] Pearson's comments were condemned by other Sky News reporters such as Andrew Bolt, as well as by former Victorian Liberal Party President Michael Kroger.
He has also allegedly used abusive language to describe some of his political opponents, such as "arse coverer", "maggot", "bucket of shit", and "fucking white cunt".
[69] In May 2017, as part of a confidential legal settlement, The Guardian Australia issued an apology to Noel Pearson over a story they published in January 2017, which made defamatory claims.