A small Aboriginal tribal group that has established its own government and renounced legal ties with Australia aims to make history by entering into the first Indigenous treaty with the Commonwealth. 
The Sovereign Yidindji Government, whose lands stretch south of Port Douglas, through Cairns, inland across the Atherton Tablelands and 80 kilometres out to sea, says it wants to help Australia overcome the legal conundrum of operating on Yidindji territory without consent.
Murrumu Walubara Yidindji (pictured), the foreign affairs minister, said his government was similar to the Vatican City State - with its own laws, language and institutions. To the Yidindji people, Australia is a "foreign entity".
"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 said. "It doesn't have any validity in law."
Formerly a journalist known as Jeremy Geia, Murrumu has renounced his Australian citizenship, relinquished his passport and bank accounts, and eschews Australian currency. "Australia, we can see the injury you've got," he said. "We can cure it and we're not going to send you a bill for it. It's a hearts and minds game and all we're saying is we have our own jurisdiction."
Since early last year, about 40 people have taken the citizenship pledge to join the Yidindji tribal people, who also have their own driver licensing system.
Murrumu was pulled over by Queensland police on Sorry Day in   May this year and charged over allegedly driving an unregistered vehicle without a licence, he said.
He did not go to court to defend the charges and said he had no idea how the case had progressed.
He is unsure how he will achieve international travel on a Yidindji passport, but is reaching out to countries like Russia and Venezuela to establish diplomatic relations.
The Yidindji government has also sought meetings with the Australian government, but is yet to get a response. "What we're saying ... is: come and sit down with us, have a cup of tea and let's talk about entering a memorandum of understanding to grant you consent to enter our territory," he said. "This could be a blueprint for true reconciliation."