YIE-NIE LECTURE Before we begin I would like to start with a small Yidin prayer it goes 'Gayaburra mulawai gudan nyinang' a christian man or woman could interpret this as meaning 'Heavenly father may your Holy spirit come here now in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ'. With just these few words, the creator of the universe and all things, has been invited and in fact is right here with us now in this room as we have called on His name to give us direction and live life according to His will 'Gayaburra goopi gurrinyi' – praise be to God. I would also like to say 'Gumanyi, boori bulwar mulawai yabanji Yidi nadjin, Gayaburra goopi gurrinyi' This can be translated to mean the very first fire on this land belongs to Yidindji, praise be to God. I must be permitted to convey a very important message to all, that is the men & women of the Yidindji society do not respect persons and or things, by doing so we become transgressors of our law. It is very important for us to remember that we maybe part of the world but certainly doesn't mean we are of it. I hope and will continue to pray that Gayaburra will be with us at all times and that we may never forget to praise Him in all that we do. Indeed, Christians and other men & women of faith share our belief, in the book of Romans chapter 13 verse 1 of the King James Version it is written: 'Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Friends, brothers and sisters I can repeated what has been passed on through my family for thousands of years, that is Gayaburra gave us language, land and a true gift, the law. Law, is what brings us here today. Which law? Well, we have tribal law here, many would agree the original law, but we have established our own legal personality, that being the Sovereign Yidindji government. Yes, it is a useful tool that governments are used to express and assert our desires, aspirations and sovereign capacity to all nations in the paper world. We all must remember that the government is like a boomerang a multi purpose instrument to benefit the tribe. Someone created it, it has a role and a function but We must never place it above family, friends but more importantly our Almighty creator. But I will now proceed to use this government to act in my capacity as Chief Minister of the Sovereign Yidindji Government to present the inaugural Yie-Nie lecture. I would like to acknowledge the other Yidindji government ministers, some of which are here today: Gaan-Yarra of Yalmabara Attorney-General Arela of Djabugai Health Minister Bumi of Gimuybara our Cultural Affairs Minister Bindur Bullin Minister for the Arts Bukal-Bukal of Gimuybara, Environment Minister, Bana-Boori of Wanyur Majay, Minister for Employment & Training Byubipnyim of Gimuybara, Sports Minister, Goorabuna of Yidi Minister for Parks & Wildlife, Murrumu of Walubara, Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade, and also the portfolio for Communications & Broadband, Her Excellency Lara of Gundungurra, Ambassador to the Ngambri territory & Special Envoy to Latin America. And I must also acknowledge and pay respect to the members of the Yidindji Supreme Court. I would also like to welcome all the Foreign Affairs Minister & other representatives here today welcome to our territory. You are showing the rest of the world that it is empowered to unite. Today we also celebrate the power of unity and what it can deliver which is change, change which all nations present here want.
This is a very important day. Yesterday I think was another very important and historic step, and that is thanks to the work you have done. Today is not only a day to celebrate, it is also a day to look beyond to our shared future and start planning the work ahead. Let me tell you about Yie-Nie, which is the Yidindji man whose name we have used for this Lecture series. Yie-Nie was a great leader, a statesman, a peace-keeper among many other things. Yie-Nie Lecture was a tribal man who the British & the Commonwealth of Australia called the King of Cairns. Like you today, He was an expert in diplomacy and negotiating , using the Yidindji Nation's authority to keep peace order and good governance.. He commanded the Yidindji territory with respect and honour.. the only thing different to today's assertion of sovereign power is that Yie-Nie and the other members of the society, didn't have an office or a paper government, that we all have come to know and form today. For the Yidindji at the time, legal personalities were expressed in other forms, acting through dance, ceremonies and other performances.. so to say it wasn't here would be incorrect. While the world of legal personalities can be simple for some to comprehend; for those without the understanding or comprehension of oneself, it may cause confusion and disarray. Many men & women still do not know who they are and what their duties and obligations are, it sounds strange to say it; but believe me when I say, one must know thyself. Make no mistake here, the Yidindji law is here.. not because Yidindji said so, because the British made these acknowledgements and the Commonwealth of Australia continues to acknowledge that Yidindji own the land pursuant to Yidindji law, they have a system of land tenure, a system of authority. In fact, the federal court of Australia binds all Australians to recognise and acknowledge these facts at law, Australia being a member state of the UN means all its formal agreements with the UN member states would also bind them to acknowledge that Yidindji is the true and correct owner of the Yidindji territory. Indeed, the presence of all people here is also testament to Yidindji's governing authority and the law that created the Sovereign Yidindji Government. Let us travel back to the 1920s Yie-Nie had been justified under tribal law to punish a man who was harassing women and in particular one of Yie-Nie's wives.. the punishment resulted in death.
At this time, the Australian Police, which is foreign to the Yidindji people, arrested Yie-Nie, who had been bestowed the title of King by Britain and the Commonwealth of Australia, and was put before the Australian courts. Needless, to say the courts dismissed the matter, because Yie-Nie was a member of the Yidindji society not an Australian and or Queensland one. This is very important to remember. The Commonwealth of Australia and its juridical persons like the State of Queensland etc do not have consent from the Yidindji Nation through a true and correct formal agreement to be upon the Yidindji territory. Now you have heard this information from the Honourable Gaan-Yarra of Yalmabara, our Attorney-General that in August last year we offered and had delivered to Nigel Scullion at the Australian Parliament, our road map offer of a treaty. No doubt, as the representatives of your governments, you will most likely consider doing the same. The key to this assertion is the true sovereignty ability, is to know the value of things. Which is why we have been consistent in our position to not demand one Australian dollar from the government of the Commonwealth of Australia and or the hard working Australian taxpayer, We acknowledge that Australia money is for the benefit of Australia. To make such a demand would be wrong on our part, The Yidindji Nation wants to empower the Commonwealth of Australia not pilfer and destroy it. Indeed, as Chief Minister my plan is to renew the Yidindji territory, only a few weeks ago during the opening of the Commonwealth games here in the city of Gimuy, we made it known to the Commonwealth that the Yidindji nation was keen to revitalise the territory with new stadia, roads, infrastructure, world class facilities to deliver the very best services for those men & women who choose to call the Yidindji territory home. We want to underwrite the Commonwealth of Australia.. and walk hand in hand just as Yie-Nie offered many years ago.. the only thing missing now is the Commonwealth of Australia's decision to accept or refuse our offer of a treaty road map. The ball is in their court, we have provided the remedy, we can not force our friendship upon the Commonwealth of Australia.
Australia is one of the greatest continents on this planet. It can be stronger and dare I say it, a world superpower.. but it needs to be part of the solution, that remedy my friends, is standing right before me in this room. All tribal nations of this continent, must put away any preconceived thoughts they may have about Australia, its governments and political personalities to think long and hard about what the future holds? Do they want their words to receive a poor mark? Or do we seek the seal of approval of the highest order.
It is no secret that the law has all the attributes of kindness, forgiveness, love. Then if our brother is thirsty should we give him sand to drink? The Commonwealth of Australia has no validity at law on the Yidindji Territory, it is truly thirsty, what would it say about us to let it die of thirst? No, would we be not breaking our own law. We must consider granting this right to the Commonwealth, to look after it and support it, after all we have a proprietary restitutive interest in the Commonwealth of Australia. The intention of the Sovereign Yidindji Government is to give true & correct standing to Australia, to grant certain administrative rights as part of a formal agreement. In good faith & in peace we have made these moves to help settle the past and secure the future. We have done this, not for one Australian dollar, we want to wipe the debt, take no action on genocide charges and provide a link to the original title and tenure system on the Yidindji territory, the very one the Federal Court of Australia acknowledges exists on this land. My friends, brother and sisters, it is true what is said “with great power comes great responsibility�. What will you do? How will you exercise this power? For many will be witness to it. Self government & sovereignty is a long and winding road, but I fear many will take the Broadway, which is the easy path.
Which path will you take today? Choose wisely are my words of encouragement. As a direct descendant of Yie-Nie, my path is clear, May Gayaburra protect you and bless you to an everlasting victory. Thank you.