Union of Sovereign First Nations of the
northern Murray-Darling Basin
(A Treaty)

Preamble

This Union is an Assembly of Sovereign First Nations of the northern Murray-Darling Basin on the continent of Australia, under each Nation’s own Laws and Customs.

Placing our trust in our Creators and the Stories of our Creation we, the representatives of the 22 Sovereign First Nations of the northern Murray-Darling Basin (hereafter referred to as First Nation/s or Nation/s), hereby affix our signatures as representatives of each of the Nations acknowledge and commit our Nations to each other’s ambitions to be self-determining through this Union of Sovereign First Nations.

All signatories to this Treaty agree:

Whereas; in affixing our signatures, we declare that we the Sovereign First Nations of the Northern Murray Darling Basin have not ceded our sovereignty nor did any of the Nations acquiesce our Nations’ Allodial Title to our Lands, Waters and Airspace to the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island.

Whereas; we do solemnly and wholly declare, that we shall observe our commitment to our sovereign entitlements to water throughout the Northern Murray Darling Basin, so as to ensure the continuation and continuity of our ancient water spirits who traverse every river, waterhole and the off-river springs, throughout the
whole of the Australian Continent;

Whereas; we pledge and commit our Nations to govern within the defined laws of each Nation, however they are defined by that Nation, and on our terms to enter into the modern era as the Assembly Sovereign First Nations of the Northern Murray Darling Basin and operate for administrative purposes only through the Northern
Basin Aboriginal Nations Ltd the administrative arm of this alliance within the constraints and legal system of the Corporate laws of the occupied State of Australia as are determined from time to time by the Administrative Colonial Governments;

Whereas; in order to promote local, regional and Basin wide co-operation, we commit our respective Nations, always to locate peaceful, balanced and harmonious processes, which will serve to ensure a balance between ‘Mother Earth’ and humanity, thereby assuring that there be a future of abundance by the establishment of a sustainable and defined program of development for our mutual spiritual, natural
and economic wellbeing;

Whereas; through this Alliance, all amicable negotiated outcomes will be controlled by way of registered legal documents between two or more parties;

Whereas; the rights of ‘Mother Earth” are upheld by all Nations and she must be assured at all times by the original family of Nations that any decisions taken by the various governing authorities for development must be underpinned by an assurance through this Alliance, and we pledge our commitment to ensuring ‘respect’ and
preservation of her inalienable rights and all things natural. We acknowledge that these guarantees are the absolute inherent rights to the human condition.

This Alliance of Nations provides for:

Article 1

The enhancement of our respective political voices, within both the domestic and
international arena;

Article 2

This Alliance establishes our authority under our respective Sovereign First Nations Natural Law and Cultures, free of dictatorship and subjugation by any occupying military power and thereby establishing the absolute need for meaningful engagement in any and all decision and planning for the Northern Murray Darling Basin;

Article 3

Each Nation to take responsibility for increasing our roles and responsibilities in respect of our sovereign inherent rights to be self-determining in accordance ‘Jus Cogen’; recognise all known international and accepted legal norms of the United Nations; in particular, UN General Assembly resolution 2625; The UN Charter; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); the International Covenant on Economic, Social; and Cultural Rights (ICSECR); the International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD); the UN Convention on Bio-Diversity, Resolution 69/2 of 22th September 2014 and in accordance with our respective Nations’ legal and customary norms;

Article 4

We acknowledge that in order to achieve our liberation and freedom, we assert our sovereign inherent rights as First Nations and Peoples, while recognising that under international law all these rights are preserved and guaranteed. That is: All Peoples and Nations have a right to be self-determining and free from interferences which is a prerequisite to the full enjoyment of all fundamental human rights [UN General Assembly Resolution 637 A (VII) 16 December 1952].

Article 5

We solemnly declare to:

A) Establish and maintain Nation governance in conformity with each Nation’s Law and Culture, based on the principals of best practices of First Nations and Peoples under the original and continuing ‘Continental Laws’ as were established by our Creation;

B) Share information and knowledge that will serve to enhance both Murray & Lower Darling Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN) and the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) to govern and thereby build healthy First Nation communities for everybody’s spiritual and physical wellbeing;

C) Provide any and all necessary support to each Nation when and where required, particularly as it relates to our spiritual, bi-cultural, and bi-lingual education, through continued joint Nation gatherings between MLDRIN and NBAN;

D) Work towards establishing community gathering centres within the respective Nations, so as to ensure continued communication of our cultures and other related humanitarian matters where required, especially other community needs as identified from time to time by our member Nations;

E) Promote the right of ‘self-determination’ with our right to be independent Nations;

F) Thrive to support our collective right to be economically self-sustaining within our own identified Nation boundaries. We agree to achieve this through our approved Nations economic, social and cultural plans, but not to limit our inter-Nation relationships in respect to our commitment to work with the Murray Darling Basin Authority and other relevant Government and Non-Government bodies;

G) Review annually the development and growth of all NBAN’s governance and its ability to comply with any and all such agreements as may be entered into from time to time between consenting Nations and/or their clan groups, if and when they required to do so on any particular matter concerning their Peoples;

H) Establish and maintain a list of member Nations which records its own population through their own Governance Mechanisms to include other actions and undertakings in respect of governance matters, including but not limited to fiscal, cultural, social and diplomatic relations;

I) Evaluate the Union of Sovereign First Nations operations annually and provide a written report which is to be disseminated throughout the consenting Nations;

Article 6

The consenting Nations agree that the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) is recognised as the “Assembly of Nations” to meet under the following terms:

1] Each consenting Nation agrees to provide two delegates in accordance with NBAN Ltd’s constitution;

2] The Assembly of Nations of the consenting Nations shall sit as a Parliament to execute decisions and governance in respect to matters of culture, fiscal, and other matters that effect the spiritual, environmental and personal wellbeing of the natural world of the Sovereign First Nations Peoples within the Northern Murray Darling Basin;

3] Share at all times, where appropriate, with all other Nations, cultural practices both inter and intra that give authority to Sovereign First Nations governance under each Nation’s Respective Law and Culture;

4] Support at all material times, other First Nations who seek to re-establish their governance so as to enter into this modern world, while ensuring that their governance is underpinned by that Nation’s Laws and Customs;

5] That the General Assembly of the Northern Murray Darling Basin Sovereign First Nations commits itself to working with all Sovereign First Nations on the Island Continent known as “Australia” to ensure that they may realise their aspirations to be self-determining and self-governing;

6] Comply with all laws governing Corporation activities, while ensuring that the modern governance will not violate the Laws of ‘Mother Earth’ and Culture of the consenting Sovereign First Nations;

7] Maintain a complete record of all governance proceedings to be made
available to the Sovereign First Nations of this alliance constituent members, save any matters of confidentiality as may be determined from time to time;

8] Establish governance training based on the Laws and Customs of each consenting Sovereign First Nation on the advice of the Elders, together with corporate training in modern governance;

9] Provide annual evaluations and reports of self-governance in respect of ensuring the development of an equitable and just system ensuring the freedom and rights of all First Nations constituents to share and develop a sustainable society for the wellbeing of all Peoples within their relevant Nation States;

Article 7

It is mutually understood and agreed by and between the undersigned Nations that this Alliance and other arrangements on any matters pertaining to development, albeit spiritual, social, cultural, economic, legal, and/or political at any time, must be first approved by the independent First Nation whose matters are the subject of any and all respective agreements, and who shall be deemed to have a reservation of rights which may flow from any and all of such agreement(s) for that Sovereign First Nation only;

Article 8

We the undersigned Sovereign First Nations to this Alliance shall have those respective representatives of our Sovereign First Nation make a financial contribution to the First Nations General Assembly’s Cultural Fund. These payments shall be made at each of the Full Gathering of Nations;

Article 9

The Sovereign First Nations of this Alliance in accordance with their own Law and Customs allow each Nation member’s constituents of this Alliance to freely pass and travel through lands of the consenting Nations, without let or hindrance and to freely afford him or her every assistance and protection of which he or she may stand in need;

Article 10

This Treaty which creates this Alliance shall come into force on the day of execution by the signatures of the consenting Northern Basin Sovereign First Nations representatives;