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About Us

SOVEREIGN LEGAL NOTICE:

Operations under Quandamooka Law 

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Straddie Adventures is a Quandamooka Traditional Owner operated cultural enterprise that lawfully delivers guided land and sea experiences on Quandamooka Country. Our operations are conducted in accordance with traditional law (Lore), sovereign authority, and cultural obligation.

 

We issue this notice to inform all Queensland and Commonwealth agencies, including but not limited to:

  • Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS)

  • Queensland Fisheries (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries)

  • Queensland Water Police (QPS Marine Branch)

  • Marine Licensing and Compliance Units

 

That Straddie Adventures does not require State issued permits or approvals to access, utilise, or care for our Country.

 

  1. Sovereign Right to Operate on Country

Straddie Adventures operates lawfully under the unextinguished sovereignty and ancestral rights of the Quandamooka People. Our business is embedded in cultural protocols, environmental stewardship, and the intergenerational duty to care for and share Country through education and immersion. All activities whether on land or sea are authorised under Quandamooka Lore, not Queensland statute. We make no submission to external licensing frameworks imposed by colonial systems that operate without treaty, consent, or cultural authority.

 

   2. Legal Foundations Supporting Quandamooka Rights

Our rights are recognised and supported under both international law and domestic court precedent:

International Law

  • UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

  • Article 1: Right to full self-determination.

  • Articles 3, 5, 20 & 26: Right to maintain and manage our lands, waters, and economic systems.

  • ILO Convention 169: Protects Indigenous governance over land and sea resources (ratified by international partners).

 

Queensland Domestic Law

  • Section 28 – QLD Human Rights Act 2019: Affirms Aboriginal peoples’ cultural rights, including spiritual connection to lands and waters, economic practices, and lore-based governance.

 

High Court Precedents

  • Mabo v Queensland (No 2) [1992]: Recognised the continuing existence of Native Title and overturned terra nullius.

  • Akiba v Commonwealth [2013]: Affirmed that Native Title includes commercial rights to fish, trade, and access sea country, and that extinguishment must be proven, not assumed.

  • Love v Commonwealth; Thoms v Commonwealth [2020]: Recognised Aboriginal people as distinct sovereign Peoples not subject to alien control under immigration law—reaffirming the existence of prior sovereignty.

 

These decisions collectively confirm that our cultural and commercial use of Country, both land and sea, is lawfully grounded in Indigenous legal systems and must not be interfered with without free, prior, and informed consent.

 

    3. No Cession, No Surrender

At no time have the Quandamooka People:

  • Entered into a treaty with the State or Commonwealth;

  • Surrendered our right to govern our land and sea country;

  • Consented to be regulated by external permit regimes over our cultural or commercial activities.

Any attempt to criminalise or restrict our operations using Queensland legislation constitutes an ongoing act of colonial overreach and cultural interference.

 

    4. Warning Against Unlawful Interference

Any effort by QPWS, Queensland Fisheries, Queensland Water Police, or related enforcement agencies to:

  • Issue fines, warnings, or infringement notices;

  • Restrict our cultural tours or sea country access;

  • Demand permits under Marine Parks, Fisheries, or Water Police frameworks;

will be interpreted as:

  • A breach of international law (UNDRIP Articles 8, 20, 28);

  • A violation of section 28 of the Queensland Human Rights Act;

  • An unlawful interference with the sovereign rights of the Quandamooka Nation;

  • A basis for formal legal response through domestic and international mechanisms.

All agencies are reminded of their legal obligation to act in accordance with international human rights law and the principle of self-determination.

 

    5. Position of Engagement

We remain open to respectful dialogue with government agencies who approach in good faith and recognise:

  • Quandamooka’s cultural authority;

  • The independent legal foundation of our operations;

  • The principle of sovereign coexistence, not subordination.

 

Agencies seeking to work with or contact Straddie Adventures should do so via formal correspondence, respecting Quandamooka Nation protocols.

 

This legal and cultural declaration stands as formal notice of our lawful and sovereign right to operate. Issued under the authority of Elders, Lore Holders, and Cultural Custodians of the Quandamooka Sovereign Nation.

 

Straddie Adventures - Sovereign on Country, Always.

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