Principality of Hutt River
The Principality of Hutt River, often referred to by its former name, the Hutt River Province, was a micronation in Australia, proclaimed on 21 April 1970 when farmer Leonard Casley declared his farm to be a sovereign state, the "Hutt River Province". He claimed to have seceded from Australia, which occurred during his dispute with the authorities concerning wheat production quotas. A few years later, Casley began styling himself as "Prince Leonard" and granting family members royal titles, although he did not include the word "principality" in the official name until 2006. In 2017, Casley's claim to rulership was taken over by his son Graeme, who dropped the claim to sovereignty on 3 August 2020.
The claimed territory was located north of Perth, near the town of Northampton in the state of Western Australia. It had an area of, making it larger than several recognised countries. It was not recognised as a country by the Australian Government nor any other national government, and the High Court of Australia and Supreme Court of Western Australia rejected submissions arguing that it was not subject to Australian laws.
The "principality" was a regional tourist attraction until it announced it was closed to tourists after 31 January 2020. It issued its own currency, stamps and passports.
Leonard Casley died on 13 February 2019.
History
declared the principality an independent province in 1970 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 of wheat ready to harvest when the quotas were issued, which allowed Casley to sell only or approximately. Initially, the five families who owned farms at Hutt River banded together to fight the quota, and Casley lodged a protest with the Governor of Western Australia, Sir Douglas Kendrew. The governor did not assist.Two weeks later, Casley claimed that the government introduced a bill into Parliament to "resume" his and the other families' lands under compulsory acquisition laws. At this point, Casley claimed that international law allowed them to secede and declare independence from the Commonwealth of Australia. Casley said that he nonetheless remained loyal to Queen Elizabeth II. At about this time, Casley claimed that in correspondence with the governor-general's office, Casley was on one occasion inadvertently addressed as the "Administrator of the Hutt River Province". Casley claimed that this constituted a legally binding recognition of the principality. Shortly thereafter, Casley styled himself "His Majesty Prince Leonard I of Hutt". He did this because he believed it would enable him to take advantage of the British Treason Act 1495, which provides that the de facto king of a nation cannot be guilty of treason in relation to any act against the lawful king and that anyone who interfered with that monarch's duties could be charged with treason.
Casley said that he continued to sell his wheat in open defiance of the quota. Casley believed that under Australian law the federal government had two years to respond to Casley's declaration of sovereignty. Casley says the failure to respond gave the province "de facto autonomy" on 21 April 1972, but that the Western Australian government can still dispute the secession.
On 15 February 1977, despite Casley's claims to sovereignty, he was successfully prosecuted for failing to comply with requirements to furnish the Australian Taxation Office with required documents.
On 2 December 1977, Casley "declared war" on Australia, but notified authorities of the cessation of hostilities several days later. It may be more than coincidence that this declaration of war came in just a few months after a court decision where Casley was fined for failing to furnish the ATO with certain documents. The short state of war between the principality and Australia was a scheme whereby the Prince's purpose was to argue that, under the Geneva Treaty Convention of 12 August 1949, a government should show full respect to a nation undefeated from a state of war.
In 1978, Casley appealed to the Supreme Court of Western Australia against a conviction for conducting a shop on his property without a permit. His appeal was dismissed, except to alter the penalty.
In 1970 and 1984, Casley unsuccessfully defended civil legal actions brought against him by private parties – in the former case an injunction was granted against him in relation to a land deal; in the latter case he was ordered to pay debts owed to a publishing company he had contracted to print copies of a book called The Man, which was about himself and his achievements. Casley did not suggest in these cases that he was not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Australia. The principality released over 50 different sets of stamps and these postage stamps have a solid global following, and coins.
In about 2006, Casley was again successfully prosecuted by the Australian Taxation Office. He sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia, but his application was dismissed with the comment that his arguments were "fatuous, frivolous and vexatious".
In September 2006, Casley decided to change the province's name to "Principality of Hutt River".
In January 2017, Casley announced that after ruling for 45 years, he would be stepping down, to be succeeded by his youngest son, Graeme. With a number of potential sons and daughters, the successor was nominated by Casley and approved by a crown committee. Some commentary at the time had expected his older son, Ian, to be the successor.
In June 2017, Casley was ordered by the Supreme Court of Western Australia to pay $2.7 million in unpaid tax, and his son Arthur Casley was ordered to pay $242,000 in unpaid tax.
In February 2019, Casley died, leaving his son, Graeme Casley, to succeed to the throne as "Prince Graeme" and inherit his $2.5 million debt to the Australian Taxation Office. In December 2019, citing declining revenue from agriculture as well as a drop in tourist numbers, the principality issued a media release to announce that it would be closing its borders with effect from 31 January 2020. The principality would no longer accept visitors, would cease to issue entry and exit visas and would stand down most government services and offices for the duration of the hiatus. The announcement included the following statement: "It is with a heavy heart and after much thought and consultation with my Cabinet and ADC that I have to inform all that the Government of the Principality of Hutt River is about to go on hiatus. Our borders will be closed to all and all government external services will cease at close of business Friday 31 January 2020 until further notice."
On 3 August 2020, the principality was formally dissolved, amidst disputes with the Australian Taxation Office demanding the principality pay millions in unpaid taxes across its 50-year history as well as the financial market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The principality's owned land was sold off to settle the tax dispute.
Status
The principality had no legal status as a matter of Australian law. In 2007, the High Court of Australia dismissed an application by Casley for leave to appeal against a judgment against him relating to his son Leonard's failure to file tax returns. Leonard argued that he resided in the "Hutt River Province" and that it is not part of Australia and not subject to Australian taxation law. The court dismissed Casley's application and found that his arguments were "fatuous, frivolous, and vexatious."The Australian government unequivocally stated on its website that it did not recognise the secession of the principality. Passports issued by the principality were not recognised by the Australian government. Leonard made unverified claims that they have been accepted on some occasions by some unspecified foreign countries, but there was a documented instance of a man being arrested in Germany for attempting to use a Hutt River Province "diplomatic passport".
Casley claimed that the ATO sent him a tax demand in 2012 to which he simply responded with a document stating that he was a "foreign national and non-resident of Australia". He also repeatedly claimed that he was classed by the ATO as a "non-resident of Australia for income tax purposes" and did not pay tax. In 2017, however, Justice Le Miere of the Supreme Court of Western Australia ordered Leonard to pay more than A$2.7 million in unpaid taxes, and Arthur Casley to pay more than A$242,000 in unpaid taxes. The judge said that their argument of sovereignty "has no legal merit or substance. Anyone can declare themselves a sovereign in their own home but they cannot ignore the laws of Australia or not pay tax." An appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed.
Despite this, the principality continued to argue that it was an independent entity within the Australian legal system. The principality tried repeatedly to use a document purporting to be a letter from the Commonwealth Department of Territories admitting that the principality was a "legal entity". The Australian government noted that Casley "has used the document in various countries in the past and even sent a copy of it to Senator Evans in 1993". The Australian government also told foreign governments that "We have seen the purported 'Department of Territories Minute' before. The clumsy language, including a Malapropian use of 'a moot point' gives it away for what it is, a poorly attempted forgery."
The principality claimed that all social security benefits were withdrawn from Hutt River's residents at the time of secession by the Australian government. It further claimed that residents did not receive pensions, medical benefits, educational allowances, child endowments, or benefits normally paid to war veterans. Voting is compulsory by law in Australia, but Casley claimed to have successfully removed the names of Hutt River residents from the Australian electoral roll. Casley admitted that he made annual payments to the Shire of Northampton, the local government authority, although he chose to characterise these payments as "gifts" rather than council rates. The principality said that it levied its own income tax of 0.5 per cent on financial transactions by foreign companies registered in the province and personal accounts.
There were some occasions where organisations stated that the province had some sort of sovereignty:
- The National Museum of Australia contained an exhibition on the theme of "Separation" within Australia which included a Hutt River Province display which stated that Casley "successfully seceded from Australia".
- Judy Lattas, a sociologist at Macquarie University, once stated that "many officials in Western Australia, some quite high up, and even nationally in Australia are happy to play out the myth of Hutt River's sovereignty" by attending Hutt River functions, returning correspondence, and abandoning the claim for tax.
- In 2005, the Shire of Northampton listed the principality as having "high historic and social significance as the site of Australia's only independent principality."