Urabba Parks Proprietary Limited
Urabba Parks Proprietary Limited ABN 24 159 318 859 | |
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 Common seal
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Motto: ΠΑΤΡΙΔΑ ΚΑΙ ΓΟΝΕΙΣ (Greek: Homeland and Parents) | |
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| Capital | Urabba Square, UP1 33°50'30.6"S 146°15'32.9"E |
| Official languages | Australian English Note 1 |
| Demonym | Urabbaparcensian |
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Enactor | D.J. Racovolis |
| (vacant) | |
| (vacant) | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Realisation of Independence | |
| 3 July 2012 | |
• Establishment of jurisdiction (adoption of the Constitution) | 5 March 2021 |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.310[1] km2 (0.506 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
| Population | |
• 2022 census | 1 |
| Currency | Australian dollar ($) (AUD) |
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) |
• Summer (DST) | AEDST (UTC+11) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyyNote 2 |
| Drives on the | left |
Urabba Parks, officially Urabba Parks Proprietary Limited, is an Australian charity that owns 4 Urabba Street, Rankins Springs, New South Wales (listed in some maps as Urabba Street Reserve and Urabba Parks Pty Ltd - Rankins Springs campus). The charity was incorporated on 3 July 2012, and established itself as a jurisdiction with the adoption of the current Constitution on 5 March 2021. With an area of 1,310 square metres[1], the fully autonomous and de facto sovereign Imvrassian Hegemony is affiliated with the Landcare movement and has the overarching purpose "to advance humanity and the environment together"[Constitution 1] with charitable democracy.
Location and entry
Urabba Parks (listed in some maps as Urabba Street Reserve, Urabba Parks Pty Ltd - Rankins Springs campus and Urabba Street Landcare) is located at 4 Urabba Street Rankins Springs, New South Wales, Australia, two blocks down from St Kevin's Catholic Church located on the corner of Urabba Street and Boomerang Road (the Mid-Western Highway). Urabba Parks is open to the public all days of the year, and a person may enter provided the person is not excluded, suspended or disqualified from the proceedings of Urabba Parks under Urabbaparcensian law.
Opening hours
Although Urabba Parks is open 24 hours a day, park users are advised not to loiter in or around the micronation after dark or in the early hours of the morning as to avoid disturbing local residents.
Etymology
Urabba refers to the name of the street where the micronation is situated, and is a variation of the name of a nearby locality of Eurabba, which is a Wiradjuri word meaning "a boggy creek".[2]
Parks refers to the operating model of "parks", which could include open spaces but also built environments for the purpose of providing charitable services such as health and education delivered by associated entities.
Proprietary (or Pty) refers to the fact Urabba Parks is a proprietary (private) company limited by shares under Australian company law. Although most charitable companies do not issue shares, and are incorporated as companies limited by guarantee, the Constitution of Urabba Parks provides for the surplus assets usually distributed among shareholders to be distributed to charities chosen by those shareholders (with the amount being in proportion to the shares held).
Limited (or Ltd) refers to the fact that under Australian company law, the members of Urabba Parks are not liable for its debts if the micronation winds up and is unable to pay them.
History
The Founder of Urabba Parks, D.J. Racovolis, purchased what is now Urabba Parks in 2011, and in early 2012 decided to pursue what is now known in Urabba Parks as 'charitable democracy', having a charity nation delivering benefit to the wider community but also having a unique identity. Urabba Parks Pty Ltd was officially incorporated as a company on 3 July 2012, and was registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission on 3 December 2012[3].
Establishment of jurisdiction
For the first 9 years of its existence, Urabba Parks was governed by a "conventional" charitable company constitution, which was slightly modified to allow for its status as a share issuing entity. The current Constitution came into force upon the establishment of jurisdiction on 5 March 2021, when the Urabba Parks Proprietary Limited Constitution Statute 2021 was officially enacted. The Constitution provides that the overarching purpose of Urabba Parks is to "to advance humanity and the environment together"[Constitution 1] through the development of charitable democracy. The Constitution also codified Urabba Parks character as being both "Hellenic"[Constitution 2] and "Landcare"[Constitution 3].
Integration into the Empire of Imvrassia
On 23 June 2022, Aggelos I, Emperor of Imvrassia declared Urabba Parks an Hegemony of the Empire of Imvrassia. Mr Racovolis now holds the honorary title of Sebastokrator of Urabba Parks, in addition the substantive title Enactor. The affiliation to Imvrassia is intended to advance the Hellenic character of Urabba Parks.
Tenth anniversary
On 3 July 2022, Urabba Parks celebrated its 10th anniversary as an incorporated company.
Geography, environment and utilities
General characteristics
Urabba Parks is is located in Rankins Springs, which is located in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of the Riverina bioregion. The area surrounding Rankins Springs is within the Lachlan Plains subregion of the extensive Cobar Peneplain Bioregion (comprising 9.2 percent of the territory of New South Wales)[4].
Geography
According to a 2017 plan of boundary remarking by PHL Surveyors[1], Urabba Parks is rectangular in territory, and is 21.75 x 60.35 metres, being a total area of 1,310 square metres.
Rankins Springs is a landlocked village approximately 219 metres above sea level.[5] There is a slight gradient in Urabba Parks, with the UP1 range fronting Urabba Street being of slightly higher elevation than the UP4 range which fronts the unnamed lane running parallel with Urabba Street.
Climate
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology classifies the Riverina bioregion in which Urabba Parks sits in the Hot Dry Zone (with cooler winters) climatic zone. Places in this zone can be very hot in the summer months while in the winter, nights can be considerably cold with cool to mild days.[6] Under the Köppen climate classification, the Riverina predominantly falls in the hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) zone[7][8]. Mean daily maximum temperatures in Rankins Springs range from 37 °C (98.6 °F) in January to 14 °C (57.2 °F) in June.[9] Rankins Springs has an annual rainfall of 452 millimetres.[10]
Connection of water supply
In October 2021, Carrathool Shire Council installed a potable water supply, known as the Urabbaparcensian Water Board in UP4, alongside the unnamed lane running parallel with Urabba Street.
Ranges
Urabba Parks is divided into 4 ranges. A range is a geographical division that functions in a similar manner to a postcode zone, and is not necessarily a jurisdictional or administrative division.
| Code | Description | Photo album |
|---|---|---|
| UP1 | Urabba Square (the "capital", located behind the Front) | Link |
| UP2 | Front (facing Urabba Street) | Link |
| UP3 | Middle (in between UP1 and UP2) | Link |
| UP4 | Rear (facing the unnamed lane running parallel with Urabba Street) | Link |
Politics and government
Urabba Parks has status in Australian law as Urabba Parks Proprietary Limited (usually abbreviated to Urabba Parks Pty Ltd) as a company registered under the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth of Australia and incorporated in the State of Victoria. Urabba Parks is also a registered charity under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 of the Commonwealth and is regulated by the ACNC[11].
Under intermicronational law, Urabba Parks an Imvrassian Hegemony under the name Hegemony of Urabba Parks.
Urabba Parks is governed by a Constitution, which establishes it as a "non-state jurisdiction" with its own legal system, a Parliament, Executive Government and Judicature. The jurisdiction is created by the agreement of jurisdiction, which is contained in subsection 7(2) of the Constitution[Constitution 4], which provides that each party agrees to appear before judicial bodies in the case of "answering any charge of an offence against the law of Urabba Parks, or any appeals from any judgment, order or sanction so given in respect of a proceeding", and to public arbitration of matters arising under the law of Urabba Parks.
Monarchy
Daniel Racovolis reigns as Enactor of Urabba Parks by virtue of holding foundation in Urabba Parks through his holding company, D.J. Racovolis Services Pty Ltd. The Enactorship is, under the law of Urabba Parks, known as the Management, making it the equivalent of the Crown in Commonwealth legal systems. The Enactor's designated representative in Urabba Parks by the Manager-General at the corporate level and by the managers at the divisional level, who by convention act on the advice of the ministers. Thus, in practice the Manager-General acts as a legal figurehead for the actions of the Park Minister and the Proprietary Council.
Directors
The directors of Urabba Parks include:
- Honorary Directors: Honorary Managers (including the Enactor) are appointed directors upon giving consent to their appointment[Constitution 5]
- Legislative directors: Members of the Houses of the Parliament[Constitution 6]
- Judicial directors: Directors of the Court of Directors[Constitution 7]
Federation and jurisdictional divisions
The Constitution establishes a federal system of government. Under a federal system, powers are distributed between a central government and constituent governments. In Urabba Parks, that distribution is between Urabba Parks and its regions and other jurisdictional divisions. However, to date no jurisdictional divisions have been formed, therefore Urabba Parks is effectively a unitary government until such divisions are established or admitted to Urabba Parks.
Parliament
Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Urabba Parks which consists of the monarch (represented by the Manager-General) and the Houses of Parliament established under the law of Urabba Parks[Constitution 8]. As of 3 August 2022, the only House of Parliament designated in law is the House of Ordinaries.
The Parliament has the power to make laws in many areas such as revenue items (membership fees, income levies from associated entities), external affairs, conduct of member proceedings and the management of entities formed within Urabba Parks[Constitution 9].
Executive
The Executive Government of Urabba Parks consists numerous components[Constitution 10], including:
- the Proprietary Council, which in practice gives legal effect to the decisions of the cabinet, comprising the Park Minister and other ministers of corporation appointed by the manager-general on the advice of Parliament
- Departments of Corporation, headed by Ministers of Corporation
- the external service, including representatives and consultants accredited to other jurisdictions
- the Urabbaparcensian Defence Service, the main corporate operating arm
- the law enforcement service, that enforces corporate laws
- the corporate service, which is the civil service for Urabba Parks
Judiciary
Each person who enters Urabba Parks or becomes a member is subject to the agreement of jurisdiction contained in the Constitution[Constitution 4], which requires a person to appear when required as an accused or to give evidence to judicial bodies when required.
The judicial system is headed by the Court of Directors[Constitution 11]. The minister responsible for the judiciary is the Advocate-General, the Corporate Government's Chief Law Officer. The Directors of the Court are directors and charity trustees of Urabba Parks[Constitution 7], and are appointed by the Manager-General in Council upon presentation of a member holding service membership (redeemable preference shares) of Urabba Parks[Constitution 12].
The Parliament also has the power to create other courts, which also consist of judicial officers appointed upon presentation of service members with rights of presentation to the Manager-General in Council for appointment as a member of the court. In most cases the presenter is the judicial officer themselves, however in some cases another person or a company may present a qualified person for appointment. While the Manager-General in Council is not obliged to appoint a person so presented, the cessation of the presentation of an incumbent judicial officer by the presenter has the effect of ceasing the appointment[Constitution 13].
Independent governance service
There is an independent governance service which is headed by the Visitatorial Commission[Constitution 14], and includes other agencies such as Inquiries Urabba Parks (which conducts Enactorial Commissions, similar to Royal Commissions in Australia). Senior members of the independent governance service are removable only with a vote of the Houses of the Parliament on the advice of the Visitatorial Commission. The Visitatorial Commission also reports to Parliament on its parliamentary performance in relation to adherence to Chapter 9 of the Constitution (including the Urabba Parks Bill of Rights), matters raised by the independent governance service, distribution of surpluses through charity distributions and matters referred to it by Parliament.
Foreign relations
Urabba Parks participates in the micronational community as a Hegemony of the Empire of Imvrassia. The micronational diplomatic relations of Urabba Parks are the responsibility of the Emperor of Imvrassia.
In addition, Enactor Danny Racovolis, who holds land in Urabba Parks through holding company D.J. Racovolis Services Pty Ltd, is willing to declare regions of Urabba Parks as integral parts of other micronations, on the condition the micronation accepts the federal governance structure in Urabba Parks.
Defence
The Urabba Parks Operations Network (UPON), which includes branches of the Urabbaparcensian Defence Service (UDS) and private services, contributes to the civil defence of Australia and its regional and global allies through environmental protection and rejuvenation, research and safety. UPON has designated branches in land, water, air, space and cyber spheres. The responsible minister for the UDS is the Minister of Operations who administers the Department of Operations which along with the UDS forms the Urabbaparcensian Defence Organisation.
| Sphere | Branch | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
 Urabba Parks Land Service (UPLS)
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 Urabbaparcensian Army
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Landcare operations, mainly outside Urabba Parks and with the landholder's consent |
 Urabba Parks Ranger Service (UPRS)
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Landcare operations and park user management, mainly within Urabba Parks (with an option to deploy to other landholders when needed) | |
 Urabba Parks Nautical Service (UPNS)
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 Enactorial Urabbaparcensian Navy (EUN)
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Water-based environmental protection and research activities and logistical support to other branches |
 Urabba Parks Coastcare Service (UPCS)
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Coastcare operations, mainly outside Urabba Parks and with the landholder's consent | |
 Urabba Parks Surf Life Saving (UPSLS)
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Small boat patrols and assistance to surf life saving clubs | |
 Urabba Parks Space Operations Group (UPSOG)
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 Enactorial Urabbaparcensian Air Service (EUAS)
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Air-based environmental protection and research activities and logistical support to other branches |
 Enactorial Urabbaparcensian Outer Space Service (EUOSS)
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Space-based environmental protection and research activities and logistical support to other branches | |
 Enactorial Urabbaparcensian Cyber Service (EUCS)
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Protection of information and communications technology resources |
Economy
Urabba Parks is exempt from Australian income tax as a charitable institution as it is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission[11]. As a registered charity, Urabba Parks must be not-for-profit and work towards its charitable purpose, and must be able to demonstrate this and provide information about its purposes to the public. The main charitable object of Urabba Parks is to operate its Rankins Springs campus at 4 Urabba Street for the benefit of the general public. The main activities of Urabba Parks include Landcare and civil defence operations through the Urabba Parks Operations Network.
Capital structure
Urabba Parks is limited by shares, meaning that the liability of members is limited to the amount (if any) unpaid on their shares. Most shares are issued 'paid up' with no such liability. This is in contrast with most charitable companies which are limited by guarantee and do not have a share structure.
In the capital structure of Urabba Parks, there are four types of membership:
- Honorary membership (bonus shares), being paid up from retained earnings
- Service membership (redeemable preference shares), being redeemable (i.e. repayable) to the shareholder for the amount paid up upon winding up or on the shareholder's request, with applications for redemption being placed in a redemption queue
- Patron membership (non-redeemable preference shares), where the shareholder has the right to nominate the amount paid up on the shares to their chosen charity upon winding up
- Ordinary membership, where shareholders are entitled to chose the charities to receive assets remaining net assets after the payment of debts (including those related to service membership) to their charities in proportion to their shareholding.
Charity distributions
Urabba Parks is required to distribute its net assets after the payment of debts (including those related to service membership) to charities upon winding-up, and not pay any dividends. However upon dissolution the funds are divided among recipient charities nominated by ordinary members in proportion to their shareholding, subject to the special rights of patron members. In addition, there is a system in Urabba Parks, known as charity distribution, where by Urabba Parks may declare an amount as a charity distribution, apply it to giving accounts and giving pools allocated to members. Funds in giving accounts and giving pools are then paid to charities nominated by the members.
Demographics
For the purposes of the law of Imvrassia, the population of the Hegemony of Urabba Parks consists of all the Imvrassian Citizens with belonger status in the Hegemony. As at 26 June 2022, there is only one such person, being Danny Racovolis, the Enactor.
Culture and media
Reflecting the intentions of the Founder of Urabba Parks, the culture of Urabba Parks is based in Hellenism. The national colours of Urabba Parks are green and gold to represent the Australian influence and the house mark, the Urabbaparcensian Cross, is a is a monogrammatic cross or Staurogram (which is a typographic ligature composed of a superposition of the Greek letters tau (Τ) and rho (Ρ)), with the 'T' joined by a demi-circle. The colours and house mark make up the Flag of Urabba Parks, which was adopted along with the Constitution of Urabba Parks on 5 March 2021.
Urabba Parks FC
On 12 July 2022, the Enactor entered an association football team in the 2022/23 season of the MicroNations League Cup.[12]
Media
Urabba Parks also operates the Australian Legislation Website, which provides links to Australian legal resources (in addition to providing authorised versions of Urabbaparcensian Government laws for download).
See also
- Empire of Imvrassia, of which Urabba Parks is a Hegemony
- Urabba Parks Operations Network
Notes
- 1. ^ Australian English is a de facto official language due to its widespread use.
- 2. ^ There is no official all-numeric date format for Urabba Parks, but government recommendations generally follow Australian date and time notation.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Plan of boundary remarking of 4 Urabba Street, Rankins Springs. PHL Surveyors, Griffith NSW. Dated 28 April 2017.
- ↑ Box 4 folder 2: New South Wales place names, 1899-1903 - page 30. State Library of New South Wales Transcription Tool. Retrieved 1 August 2022
- ↑ Charity register >> Urabba Parks Pty Ltd >> History. Retrieved 27 July 2022
- ↑ "Cobar Peneplain Bioregion" (PDF). NSW Government. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ↑ GeoYP article on Rankins Springs. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- ↑ "Hot Dry Zone (with cooler winter)". Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
- ↑ Our Riverina Vineyards Calabria Famiuly Wines 2019
- ↑ Riverina Region Riverina Winemakers Association. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ↑ Weather Almanac of Rankins Springs. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ↑ Bonzle profile on Rankins Springs. Retrieved 26 June 2022
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Charity register >> Urabba Parks Pty Ltd. Retrieved 26 July 2022
- ↑ Urabba Parks FC. Retrieved 26 July 2022