People will remember Peter Manning’s long career in media, politics and academia. They will rightly remember his years at the ABC, from Four Corners to leading news and current affairs.

But I want to write about the Peter I knew: he was a friend, who gave solidarity a human meaning that went well beyond public statements and political positions.

I first met Peter at a seminar at the University of Sydney in 2014. We talked for a long time. He was there with his partner Carol. He was warm and easy to be around. It did not take me long to realise that his support for Palestinian rights was not just something he brought out for public occasions.

For Peter, solidarity was something you did. He wanted to know the people affected by it, to hear their stories, to understand what they were going through and to be there if someone needed advice, support or a bit of help.

Palestine, for Peter, was a question of justice, rights and human dignity; it was never abstract. He saw the people behind the headlines: families, friends, people with names, stories and ordinary lives.

That is what made Peter’s........

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