Hutt River

The Principality of Hutt River, previously known as the Hutt River Province, is the oldest micronation in Australia. The principality claims to be an independent sovereign state. It is unrecognized except by other micronations, but got de facto legal status on 21 April 1972.

The principality is located 517 kilometres (321 mi) north of Perth, near the town of Northampton.

The principality was founded on 21 April 1970 by Leonard George Casley when he and his friends proclaimed their secession from the state of Western Australia.

History
The Principality of Hutt River was created in 1969, as a province by the name of Hutt River Province, in response to a dispute with the government of Western Australia over what the Casley family considered draconian wheat production quotas. The Casley farm had around 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of wheat ready to harvest when the quotas were issued which allowed Casley to sell only 1,647 bushels or approximately 40 hectares (99 acres). Initially the five families who owned farms in Hutt River banded together to fight the quota and Casley lodged a protest with the Governor of Western Australia Sir Douglas Kendrew. The Governor replied "no rectification of our Quota would be allowed" which, as he acts as the Queen's representative, made Her Majesty technically liable, in Tort[source?], for applying an unlawful imposition as the quota had not yet been passed into law. Casley then lodged a claim under the Law of Tort for $52 million in the belief the claim would force a revision of the quota. Two weeks later the government introduced a bill into Parliament to "resume" their rural lands under compulsory acquisition. After approaches to the government to reconsider the acquisition bill failed, Casley and his associates resorted to a British law (the Treason Act 1495) which they felt allowed them to secede and declare their independence from the Commonwealth of Australia. Casley states that he nonetheless remains loyal to Queen Elizabeth II. Casley was elected administrator of the new "sovereign state" by his family.

The government of Western Australia determined it could do nothing without the intervention of the Commonwealth. The Governor-General of Australia, Sir Paul Hasluck, later stated that it was unconstitutional for the Commonwealth to intervene in the secession. In letters with the governor-general's office, Casley was called the "Administrator of the Hutt River Province" by mistake. The Royal Prerogative, makes this recognition binding on all courts. After the government threatened him with prosecution, Casley styled himself His Royal Highness Prince Leonard I of Hutt to take advantage of a Commonwealth law that a monarch could not only not be charged, but that anyone who interfered with his duties could be charged with treason. Although the law in this matter has since changed, the Australian government has not taken any action against Hutt River since the declaration. Under Australian law, the government had two years to respond to Casley's declaration; the failure to respond gave the province de facto legal status on 21 April 1972.

In 1976, Australia Post refused to handle Hutt River mail, forcing mail to be redirected via Canada. Following repeated demands by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for the payment of taxes, on 2 December 1977 the province officially declared war on Australia. Prince Leonard notified authorities of the cessation of hostilities several days later. The mail service was restored and tax requests ceased. Hutt River citizens are now classed by the ATO as non-residents of Australia for income tax purposes; thus income earned within the province is exempt from Australian taxation. The province levies its own income tax of 0.5% on financial transactions by foreign companies registered in the province and personal accounts.

While the principality does not pay taxes, the Australian government's current official position is that it is nothing more than a private enterprise operating under a business name.

In the early 1980s Hutt River Province declared itself to be a kingdom, but soon after reverted to its original status of a principality. The principality proceeded to release a number of its own stamps and coins.

In September 2006 Prince Leonard decided to change the name to "Principality of Hutt River" and dropped the word "Province".

Statistics
The Principality of Hutt River is situated 517 kilometres (321 mi) north of Perth along the Hutt River. It is about 75 square kilometres (19,000 acres) in size.

Exports include wildflowers, agricultural produce, stamps and coins. Tourism is also important to its economy with 40,000 tourists visiting the principality every year.

Very few people live in Hutt River, but the principality claims a world-wide citizenry of 13,000.

The Principality has no standing army, but a number of its citizens have been awarded military commissions. Honorary guardsmen attend the prince on formal occasions, and despite being completely landlocked, naval commissions have been conferred on supporters of the principality.

The principality's capital, Nain, is named after Nain in Galilee.

Government
When the Principality of Hutt River seceded, a bill of rights, a brief document outlining the rights of "Hutt River" citizens, was drafted. It also provided for an administration board to govern the principality until a permanent government could be set up. When Casley declared himself a prince, the administration board was abolished and the Hutt River Principality became a benevolent absolute monarchy, with a legislation committee to draft new legislation. In 1997, the legislation committee presented a proposal for a constitution to the prince and his cabinet. Its most recent version is ffective from 1 January 2011. All citizens over 18 living in the principality have the right to elect the parliament.

Currency
A set of low denomination banknotes was introduced in 1974. The first Hutt River coins were not issued until 1976.

The currency of the Hutt River Province Principality is the Hutt River Dollar, which is divided into 100 cents. The Hutt River Dollar is tied at a one-to-one ratio with the Australian dollar.