Aboriginal tribe cuts ties with Australia

A small Aboriginal tribal group, whose traditional lands stretch south of Port Douglas to Cairns in north Queensland and inland across the Atherton Tablelands, has established its own micronation-style government renouncing legal ties with Australia.

Aboriginal tribe proposes treaty between Australia. Image by eGuide Travel / CC BY 2.0

Murrumu Walubara Yidindji, the foreign affairs minister for the Sovereign Yidindji Government, sees itself as similar to the Vatican City State. Now the Sovereign Yidindji Government, wants to help Australia overcome the legal conundrum of operating on Yidindji territory without consent.  “The Commonwealth of Australia does not have consent or a treaty to enter Yidindji territory, so we had to show the leadership to create our own institutions of government,” Murrumu told Fairfax Media. Murrumu has renounced his Australian citizenship, relinquished his passport and bank accounts, and eschews Australian currency.

Read more: theage.com.au