Sovereign Municipality of Ameristralia

Sovereign Municipality of Ameristralia
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Aequalitas et Libertas" Equality and Freedom
Anthem: "Oh, Ameristralia"
Light blue - Countries where Ameristralia is located Blue - location of Ameristralian wards within countries
Capital	Grosvenor
Largest Ward	Hubourne
Recognised national languages	English
Ethnic groups (2023)Census	By country: 33% Australian 21% American 9% British 5% Canadian Indian 2% Bengali Greek Hungarian Italian Mexican New Zealander Paraguayan Filipino Swiss
Demonym(s)	Ameristralian
Government	Constitutional monarchy
• Sovereign Lord Mayor	David
• Chief Minister	Kyson Brooke
Legislature	Municipal Assembly
Independence from Australia
• Constituted	13 August 2021
• Declared	3 September 2021
Area
•	0.00874779 km2 (0.00337754 sq mi)
Population
• 2023 census	43
HDI (2021)	0.948 very high
Currency	Ameristralian Dollar (AMRD)
Time zone	UTC+10 (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
Driving side	left in Australia right in United States
ISA0001 code	AMR

The Sovereign Municipality of Ameristralia, commonly referred to as Ameristralia (/əˈmɛr.ɪ.stræljə/ ( (listen)) or Ah-mare-ah-stral-eea), is an independent exclave mainly located in Victoria, Australia. The municipality was founded on Friday, 13 August 2021, by David Brooke to teach his children about civics, community, and accountability. The Act of the People's Right to Self Govern was signed by then Chief Minister Greg Matthews and Brooke on 3 September 2021, which declared independence from the Commonwealth of Australia.

Ameristralia is a constitutional monarchy, in the style of a mayorship. The Head of State, fount of honours, and sovereign is titled the Sovereign Lord Mayor. Their style of address is His/Her/Their Sovereign Lord. David Brooke has held the title since the founding of the municipality. Ameristralia has a total estimated population of around twenty-five citizens, divided into four Council regions. Each Council has a flag but maintains no authority over local laws and citizens. Councils are used to divide the Ameristralian population for the purpose of electoral voting. The Council of Dabad is currently the largest by population, with eight citizens, the Sovereign Family of Ameristralia. The remaining Councils are Grosvenor, Holland, and Philadelphia. Ameristralia has annexed four pieces of land in 2022. The four wards of Ameristralia within Australia, administered by a Mayor, are Harkfield, Hillover, Horgrave, and Terrasen. The two Ameristralian Overseas Territories are Herrisford and Hubourne.

Ameristralia is one of two original signatories of the Citadel Accords, a mutual economic and defence cooperation pact, alongside the State of Norton. The agreement was signed and ratified by each state on 29 August 2021. The pact grew to include five more signatories. Ameristralia maintained embassies in each of the states for the purpose of assisting travellers and providing government services abroad.

Etymology

The Sovereign Municipality of Ameristralia takes its name from the dual citizenship of Brooke, who holds American and Australian citizenship. Ameristralia initially claimed just over 1200 m² of land, all of which is the personal property of Brooke and his family. The small size of the land claim and citizen count is the reason "municipality" was chosen for the name over other options.

Ameristralia was officially named "The Sovereign Municipality of Ameristralia" from its foundation on 13 August 2021 until 4 June 2023, when by Royal Decree, His Sovereign Lord David announced a change that dropped "The" from the beginning of the name. This change brought the official name into the common convention of naming states.

General

Ameristralia was initially formed to teach Brooke's homeschooled children about geography, civics, public speaking, and organisation in a simulated environment. The municipality decided to open global citizenship and created a Discord server. At the Census of 2022, Ameristralia had thirty citizens from eight macronations, with two foreign consulates and five foreign embassies. The growth of the nation had allowed for the dividing of citizens into "councils." There were four councils; Dabad, Grosvenor, Holland, and Philadelphia. Councils were not considered separate or semi-autonomous regions and existed for the purpose of dividing citizens for elections. Ameristralia annexed an island from the Ostton Republic in March 2022, which became the first territory of the municipality; the Ward of Harkfield Island. Wards are given the authority to form local governments and are administered by a Ward Mayor. These regions are ceded to Ameristralia by their landowners, who are given citizenship, the title of Ward Mayor, and include a Patent as a noble of the municipality.

In July 2022, after the cession of numerous lands to Ameristralia, councils were fully abandoned in favour of wards. The wards are Harkfield Island, Herrisford, Hillover, Horgrave, Hubourne, and Terrasen. Citizens are now allowed to select a ward for electoral purposes upon grant of citizenship.

The Ameristralian Government Twitter account received verified account status on 24 May 2023, receiving a complimentary grey checkmark, "because it is a government or multilateral organisation account."

Image showing @AmeristraliaGov received a grey checkmark and what it means

Law and order

The Constitution of the People of the Sovereign Municipality of Ameristralia is the supreme law. It outlines the rights of individuals, charges and duties of government, and outlines the court system. It was officially ratified by citizen referendum on 1 March 2022. There are five municipal laws that have been passed by assent. The Library of the Assembly is a repository that contains all legislation, municipal laws, and ward ordinances publicly accessible.

Foreign relations

The Sovereign Lord Mayor is the Head of State and the official representative of Ameristralia overseas. They have the authority to credential and send delegates on international missions, engage in foreign treaties and organisations, establish consulates and embassies, receive diplomatic guests, participate in and host state events, and conduct treaty negotiations. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade is the government's representative. The Ministry and the Head of State work in tandem to ensure beneficial foreign relations for Ameristralia.

Ameristralia was a member of the Alliance of Unified Democratic Independent Micronations and Executive Council member state until it was decommissioned by the Founder. Brooke held the Secretary of Membership position. Ameristralia was a full member of the Micronational Community of Australia. Brooke served as the Minister of Culture as well as the organisation's Safety Officer.

Ameristralia was a member state of the United Sovereignties intermicronational organisation from 8 April 2022 until it dissolved in early 2023. It is a founding member of the Intermicronational Standards Administration, which develops intermicronational standards.

Ameristralia and The State of Norton signed the Citadel Accords on 29 August 2021. The Citadel Accords was an economic and military support agreement between the two nations. Initially outlining the economic and military cooperation, visa-free travel between states, and the appointment of embassies the pact had evolved to add amendments on climate policy, bullying and hate speech, intellectual property rights, and micronational warfare. The Citadel Accords were signed by seven states, Ameristralia, the State of Norton, Kingdom of Blazdonia, United Kingdom of Great Realeza, Begley Democratic Republic and Commonwealth, Empire of Liberstien, and the Pinangese Republic.

Ameristralia maintains diplomatic relations with a host of individual micronations. It officially recognises the majority of United Nations member states, including the Republic of Taiwan and Palestine. It does not recognise the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Islamic Caliphate of Afghanistan, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises citizens not to travel to these nations and several others, due to the internal conflicts and human rights violations committed by the regimes in power.

Ameristralia has two consulates in foreign nations, Australia and New Zealand.

Military

Main article: Sovereign Ameristralian Defence Forces

The Sovereign Ameristralian Defence Forces is the military force of Ameristralia. It is comprised of the Sovereign Ameristralian Army and the Sovereign Ameristralian Navy, which serve as the defence forces of the nation.

Geography and climate

Ameristralia is located northwest of the Victorian capital city of Melbourne, at an elevation of three metres above sea level. It has warm, dry summers and mildly cold, dry winters.

Climate data for Ameristalia
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	45.6 (114.1)	46.4 (115.5)	41.7 (107.1)	34.9 (94.8)	28.7 (83.7)	22.4 (72.3)	23.3 (73.9)	26.5 (79.7)	31.4 (88.5)	36.9 (98.4)	40.9 (105.6)	43.7 (110.7)	46.4 (115.5)
Average high °C (°F)	27.0 (80.6)	26.9 (80.4)	24.6 (76.3)	21.1 (70.0)	17.6 (63.7)	15.1 (59.2)	14.5 (58.1)	15.9 (60.6)	18.1 (64.6)	20.5 (68.9)	22.9 (73.2)	24.8 (76.6)	20.8 (69.4)
Daily mean °C (°F)	21.6 (70.9)	21.7 (71.1)	19.6 (67.3)	16.5 (61.7)	13.7 (56.7)	11.7 (53.1)	11.0 (51.8)	11.9 (53.4)	13.8 (56.8)	15.7 (60.3)	17.9 (64.2)	19.6 (67.3)	16.2 (61.2)
Average low °C (°F)	16.1 (61.0)	16.4 (61.5)	14.6 (58.3)	11.8 (53.2)	9.8 (49.6)	8.2 (46.8)	7.5 (45.5)	7.9 (46.2)	9.4 (48.9)	10.9 (51.6)	12.8 (55.0)	14.3 (57.7)	11.6 (52.9)
Record low °C (°F)	5.5 (41.9)	4.5 (40.1)	2.8 (37.0)	1.5 (34.7)	−1.1 (30.0)	−2.2 (28.0)	−2.8 (27.0)	−2.1 (28.2)	−0.5 (31.1)	0.1 (32.2)	2.5 (36.5)	4.4 (39.9)	−2.8 (27.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	44.2 (1.74)	50.2 (1.98)	39.0 (1.54)	53.2 (2.09)	43.9 (1.73)	49.5 (1.95)	39.8 (1.57)	47.0 (1.85)	54.5 (2.15)	55.8 (2.20)	63.3 (2.49)	60.9 (2.40)	600.9 (23.66)
Average rainy days (≥ 1mm)	5.6	5.0	5.5	7.1	8.1	8.6	8.3	9.4	9.8	9.0	7.7	6.5	90.6
Average afternoon relative humidity (%)	47	47	47	50	57	61	59	53	50	47	47	46	51
Mean monthly sunshine hours	272.8	228.8	226.3	186.0	142.6	123.0	136.4	167.4	186.0	226.3	225.0	263.5	2,384.1
Source: Bureau of Meteorology.

Economy

In the Sovereign Municipality of Ameristralia, the official currency is the Ameristralian Dollar (AMRD). Previously, it was known as the Ausican, which was a banknote pegged to the Australian dollar at a rate of §1000 to $1. In addition to the Ameristralian Dollar, fiat Australian and United States Dollars are also accepted as legal tender in Ameristralia.

Before the introduction of the Ausican banknote, the Ameristralian currency existed as a BEP2 token on the Binance test net, referred to as the Ausican. During that time, it was pegged to the price of two four-packs of Four'N Twenty Meat Pies, as determined by Woolworths.

To facilitate trading, the Ameristralian Dollar is available on the Stellar Network and can be accessed through the municipal Discord server. The currency is managed by the specially-created Sovereign Bank of Ameristralia bank Bot, which allows users to deposit, withdraw, pay, or receive funds in Ameristralian Dollars. Similar to a standard fiat bank, users can entrust their funds to the bot. Those who wish to purchase Ameristralian Dollars from a Stellar exchange can deposit the token with the bot, and their account will synchronize with the blockchain.

Currently, there is no legislation in place regarding the collection of taxes in Ameristralia. However, according to Article IIB of the constitution, the government possesses the constitutional authority to levy taxes if required..

Ameristralia currently has a modest economy with no significant exports. According to the Ministry of Treasury and Investment, four registered businesses are operating within the micronation. Recognizing the need for economic development, the government of Ameristralia is actively exploring avenues to cultivate a micronational economy. One approach being considered is the establishment of economic exchanges, involving the exchange of currency and services with other micronations. The goal of these initiatives is to foster economic growth and cooperation within the micronational community.

Municipal Holidays

Ameristralia celebrates the following Municipal Holidays

List of Holidays of Ameristalia

Date	Event
1 January	New Year's Day
19 February	Sovereign Lord Mayor's Birthday
9 April (in 2023)	Easter Sunday
10 April (in 2023)	Easter Monday
25 April	ANZAC Day
2nd Sunday in May	Mother's Day
Last Monday in May	Memorial Day
19 June	Juneteenth
13 August	Ameristralia Day
1st Sunday in September	Father's Day
31 October	Costume Day
Last Friday in November	Thanksgiving Friday
24 December	Christmas Eve
25 December	Christmas Day
26 December	Boxing Day
31 December	New Year's Eve

• Every Friday the 13th is a public holiday due to the fact that it was Friday the 13th of August when Ameristralia was formed.