Birri Gubba nation holds session on international law

A First Nations tribe whose land covers an area the size of Jamaica wants to form its own country in the Mackay-Whitsundays region. Find out more.

The symbol of the Birri Gubba nation. Photo: contributed

A First Nations tribe whose land covers an area the size of Jamaica wants to form its own country in the Mackay-Whitsundays region, the “Birri Gubba Nation”.

The Birri Gubba Nation organisers have invited members of the public to an educational session to discuss international law in Mackay on January 13 as they outline their hopes.

The organisers said they were proud to announce the first public information meeting about “the sovereign nations that are rising up across this great continent of ours, and how international law is the basis for the success of their formation”.

“We will cover how we got to where we are, why we are still here and how we get out under international law,” the post stated.

Birri Gubba leaders Tine McDonald and Galree Banbure have been reading international law and said they want to “give a better understanding to the wider community on international law and Australia’s commitment to the international law instruments”.

“The ultimate goal is to create a stand-alone nation within our region, which is based on language group and the pre-colonial boundaries of the Birri Gubba,” Ms Banbure said.

“This is about educating people on the basis of international law that nations like the Birri Gubba are built.”

‘We don’t want to impede upon anyone’s human rights’

The group leading the Birri Gubba Nation said the oppression and genocide of Australia’s Indigenous population are two reasons they are seeking to establish their nation.

“It’s continuing today within the constructs of the current system, so this is really about working with the community to step outside of the restrictions we see placed upon us by the current structure,” Ms Banbure said.

“We don’t want to impede upon anyone’s human rights.

“We’re not here to disrupt, we’re not here to cause any problems, we’re not here to take (the Australian Government) down.

“There has to be coexistence.”

‘people are not free to be who they are’

Ms McDonald said “people are not free to be who they are”.

The Birri Gubba people currently hold land rights under native title legislation for parts of the land that the Nation claims, however have made it clear that there will be no restrictions placed upon Australian citizens living on their land.

Ms Banbure and Ms McDonald were part of a rally against the 2023 Voice Referendum, encouraging members of their community to vote no out of distrust for the Federal Government.

“The laws serve the vigilant, not those who sleep upon their rights,” Ms Banbure said.

The Birri Gubba Nation currently serves primarily as an organising body for future aspirations.

The Birri Gubba Nation was established by a group of citizens on March 8, 2023, and a council was ratified by some members of the Birri Gubba community on March 11, 2023.

Members of the Birri Gubba Nation leadership are currently drafting a constitution that will outline more clearly the ambitions of the proposed state, but at this stage the Birri Gubba Nation is more of a social club in function.

UQ Law Professor Dani Linder said "Sovereignty isn’t something that can be taken away as it comes from within. "

‘International law only gets you so far’

Dr Dani Linder, a senior lecturer of law at the University of Queensland, teacher on Indigenous legal issues and a Bundjalung and Kungarakany woman, said these discussions were always empowering and positive for any Indigenous group.

She said it was important they be aware of how the law operates, particularly how it is limiting to Indigenous expressions.

“Sovereignty is a very complex legal topic conceptually and legally,” Dr Linder said.

“International law only gets you so far.”

Ms Banbure said the different conventions and treaties of the 20th century had led to the UN ratifying a people’s right to self-determination.

“Members of the Birri Gubba nation will be able to choose their own path without harm, which is the right of every human being,” she said.

‘We can strive for the right to cultural autonomy’

QUT Professor of international law Dr Afshin Akhtar-Khavari said, generally speaking, the Gubba peoples would have a right to self-determination, but certain concepts of international law would preclude them claiming sovereignty over their territory.

Dr Linder said even instruments like international law are limited, given its dependency on how these rights are implemented on a national level.

“We can strive for the right to cultural autonomy and self-determination/self-governance,” Dr Linder said.

“One of the issues is that (international law) only recognises Indigenous sovereignty as limited within the confines of the settler state.”

Birri Gubba leaders met with the leadership of the Yidindji sovereign nation to celebrate their national day on January 9. Photo: contributed

‘We as a people have a right to self determination’

The key document that will be studied at the meeting will be The Law of Nations, a 1758 treatise that has influenced the development of international law.

“Following on from that, those (instruments of international law) are all very much in line with The Law of Nations,” Ms Banbure said.

The Birri Gubba Nation said they welcomed everyone who wanted to learn about international law and “the sovereign states rising up across this great continent of ours” to attend their meeting at the Mackay Arts Society Hall on January 13.

“People are so blinded by the complexity of these issues that they fail to see the simple truth that we as a people have a right to self-determination,” Ms Banbure said.

The proposed boundaries of the Birri Gubba Nation stretch from the Haughton River and drops below Rockhampton in land and comes to the coast at St Lawrence area. It's bounded by the Great Dividing Range in the west and the ocean in the east.