Principality of Hutt River

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Flag of the Principality of Hutt River
Map of the area

The Hutt River ( English : Principality of Hutt River ), formerly Hutt River Province (HRP), is a sham state in the far west of the Australian continent . The secession of Australia was declared on April 21, 1970 by the farmer Leonard George Casley (* August 25, 1925 - February 11, 2019), the then owner of the 75 km² property, which forms the proclaimed national territory. The Australian government does not recognize the area as an independent state.

Location and population

The area of ​​the bogus state is around 75 square kilometers, just a few kilometers from the sea, 595 kilometers north of Perth near Geraldton (95 km) and Northampton (42 km) and south of Kalbarri (66 km) . The population of the bogus state comprises around 30 residents.

history

Bust of Leonard George Casley

In 1969, the farmer Leonard George Casley protested against the production quotas for wheat imposed by the government of the state of Western Australia . According to these quotas, Casley only received 10 percent of the wheat he produced. When a petition to the then governor of Western Australia , Sir Douglas Kendrew , failed, Casley sent the declaration of secession to the then incumbent Prime Minister of Western Australia , Sir David Brand, on April 21, 1970 .

The Board of Directors ( Administration Board ) certain Casley by its own account later to his prince ( Prince ). In 2017, the then 92-year-old abdicated after almost 50 years of reign and appointed his youngest son Graeme Casley as his successor. In August 2020, Graeme Casley announced that she wanted to dissolve the principality because the COVID-19 pandemic meant there was no tourism income and tax debts forced the farm to be sold.

Political status

Government office and post office

Neither the West Australian Local Government nor the Australian Federal Government recognize the Principality of Hutt River by law or in any other way:

“It has no special status. It has no separate sovereignty and remains subject to the Australian Constitution and the laws of Australia. "

“It has no special status. It has no separate statehood and continues to be governed by the Australian Constitution and laws. "

- Jeremy Bruer, Australian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates :

According to Leonard Casley, shortly after the declaration of independence, he, his family and the other residents of the Principality were granted all state benefits (e.g. veteran's pension, child benefit) to which those affected as residents and citizens of the Australian state would be legally and constitutionally entitled, withdrawn. Residents of the principality were according to him, not even registered in the Australian electoral rolls and received by the Australian government, one its citizens elective prescribes no voters passports longer issued.

In the European Union , passports of the Principality of Hutt River are considered fancy passports, the holders of which are not issued visas .

Taxes

According to Leonard Casley, he and all other residents were certified by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO ) to be "non-residents of Australia" for tax purposes . For the years 2006 to 2013, however, the ATO demanded an additional income tax payment of around three million Australian dollars from Leonard and Arthur Wayne Casley (2017: approx. Two million euros ), against which the Casleys sued unsuccessfully until 2017. An appeal was also denied.

flag

The flag of the Principality of Hutt River shows the contour of a bull's head, inside a yellow eagle head and a scales of justice in a white circle on a blue background.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Mark McGinness: 'Prince' Leonard of Hutt River province. In: The Sydney Morning Herald . smh.com.au, February 27, 2019, accessed August 6, 2019 (Australian English).
  2. ↑ a b Hutt River 'micronation' leaders lose Australian tax battle. In: BBC . bbc.co.uk, June 16, 2017, accessed August 6, 2019 (UK English).
  3. ^ A b Australian Government does not recognize the Hutt River Province. In: Australian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates. uae.embassy.gov.au, October 23, 2007, accessed August 6, 2019 (Australian English).
  4. ^ Official Home Site of the Principality of Hutt River. principality-hutt-river.com, May 8, 2019, accessed May 8, 2019 (Australian English).
  5. ^ The Formation of the Principality of Hutt River. principality-hutt-river.com, January 7, 2018, accessed May 8, 2019 (Australian English).
  6. ↑ Patrick Zoll: An Australian prince resigns. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . nzz.ch, February 16, 2017, accessed on August 6, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Ben Doherty, Naaman Zhou: Hutt River micronation to rejoin Australia due to coronavirus pandemic. May 8, 2020, accessed December 8, 2020 .
  8. ^ The Second Largest Country in Australia. In: National Geographic . nationalgeographic.com.au, September 5, 2017; accessed August 6, 2019 (Australian English).
  9. ^ A b c Andrew Heaton: Prince of the Outback. In: Reason . reason.com, June 2013, accessed August 6, 2019 (American English).
  10. ↑ Information concerning the non-exhaustive list of known fantasy and camouflage passports, as stipulated by Article 6 of the Decision No 1105/2011 / EU. (PDF; 30.6 KB) In: European Commission . ec.europa.eu, March 15, 2017, p. 3 , accessed on August 6, 2019 (English).
  11. ^ Sebastian Neuweiler and Joanna Menagh: Hutt River Province tax row: Self-proclaimed 'Prince Leonard' and son ordered to pay $ 3 million. In: ABC News. abc.net.au, June 16, 2017, accessed August 6, 2019 (Australian English).
  12. ↑ Casley -v- DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION [2017] WASCA 196. In: Supreme Court of Western Australia - Court of Appeal. austlii.edu.au, October 20, 2017; accessed August 6, 2019 (Australian English).