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Austenasian Times

Online news for the people of the Empire

Lord John Gordon elected Prime Minister

Lord John Gordon, Viscount of Thetford, has been elected the seventh Prime Minister of the Empire of Austenasia, with 60.6% of the vote. His rival candidate, Lord Andrew Creed, received 36.1% of the vote, whereas an option to Abstain – which, if it gained a majority, would have forced fresh elections – received 3.3% of the vote. This translates to thirty seven and twenty two votes respectively from the sixty one Austenasian subjects who voted yesterday. With one hundred and eight of Austenasia’s population eligible to vote, this was a 56.5% turnout. Lord Andrew Creed has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Lord Gordon. Both Lord Gordon and Lord Creed have a long history in Austenasia. Lord Gordon is the longest continually serving Representative, having represented Palasia in Parliament since July 2013, whereas Lord Creed is the longest serving Governor, having administered Corinium Terentium since December 2013. Lord John Gordon is the first former Prime Minister to resume the office, having also served from June 2020 to September 2021. This was a term feted for its political and cultural prosperity, the memory of which no doubt helped in his election. Lord Gordon – who held office as Speaker during the previous government – is also known for his sense of humour, leading the effort to have baked beans declared Austenasia’s national dish in reference to an in-joke on the national Discord server, and adopting as his campaign portrait a photo with a highly edited hairstyle. Lord Gordon’s campaign promised organising projects for Austenasians to work on to promote engagement with national life, an active approach to foreign affairs, promotion of Austenasia’s Roman heritage, and exploring initiatives to involve Austenasia with UN-related international bodies as some other small nations have done.

Ministry of Territories and the Diaspora established

Tuesday 19th January saw a new Cabinet Ministry created by Parliament to enable greater political participation for non-residential subjects and for the governors of uninhabited territories. Out of Austenasia’s population of one hundred and twenty one, only eighty five live in Austenasia itself. The other thirty six, known as non-residential subjects, form an Austenasian diaspora the majority of whom live in the United Kingdom, USA, Greece, and New Virginia. Given non-residential subjects do not live in a Town, they are not represented in Parliament. Their comparatively limited ability to have their voices heard has been noted before, but Emperor Jonathan I and PM Lord John Gordon agreed to enact concrete steps towards enabling their greater political participation. The newly-established Ministry of Territories and the Diaspora has therefore been tasked with creating a group for non-residential subjects which will allow them to have a greater involvement in Austenasian politics and culture. The exact form this group will take and the time-frame for its creation have not yet been confirmed, but membership will be voluntary. The new ministry has also been given the responsibility of “relaying to Cabinet the concerns, requests or opinions of Governors”, that is, the officials that administer uninhabited Austenasian land claims, who have prior to this not automatically had any official means of having their voices heard in lawmaking or policy. Lord Andrew Creed has been appointed the first Minister of Territories and the Diaspora. He is Austenasia’s longest serving Governor, having administered Corinium Terentium since December 2013.

Rushymia re-founded as Crown Dependency

The Kingdom of Rushymia was re-established as a territorial entity yesterday as 35 acres of land were annexed to Austenasia as the Empire’s newest Crown Dependency. Rushymia originally existed as a playground-based micronation between 1995 and 2000. In October 2010, the right to the Rushymian crown was gained by the Austenasian Throne, and an Act of Parliament was passed last year authorising the re-creation of Rushymia as an Austenasian Crown Dependency. The new site of Rushymia, claimed by Imperial Edict, was provisionally selected in April earlier this year. Notices announcing the government’s intention to claim the land were placed around the site, asking any objections to be voiced, but as no reply was forthcoming, it is assumed that the land is unwanted. The new site of Rushymia is comprised of a large area of grassland, bordered by wooded areas to its south and south-west. Prior to its annexation, the identity of its owners was unable to be verified. The land borders Mitcham Common, although not a part of the Common itself, and is often used by dog walkers, joggers, and amateur quadbike drivers. Unlike other Crown Dependencies, which are administered by a Governing Commissioner appointed by the Monarch, Rushymia is to be governed directly by Emperor Jonathan I in his capacity as King of Rushymia. In a reference to an extremely controversial incinerator being built relatively nearby, notices placed yesterday on the site announcing the annexation also stated that the building of incinerators (as well as the felling of trees used by nesting birds, in reference to another recent environmental controversy) is forbidden within the new Kingdom. Having been claimed on 29 August, a feast day of St John the Baptist, Jonathan I has declared St John to be patron saint of Rushymia. The new Crown Dependency is now Austenasia’s second largest land claim, with only Corinium Terentium covering a larger area.

Huge expansion for the Empire

The land area of the Empire has increased by almost 83% with the annexation of the Principality of Sabovia and the foundation of a new territory in central Europe. Sabovia, a principality located near to the Austenasian Territory of Corinium Terentium, was founded in April 2013 by its leader Prince Andrew I. The principality has now dissolved, with the small inhabited areas returning to the United Kingdom and the large uninhabited areas joining Corinium Terentium, which is governed by the now Lord Andrew Creed. A further expansion has taken place in the Czech Republic, where a roughly 12,000 square foot area of uninhabited land through which a part of the Rokytka river flows has been annexed as the Territory of Aurora. Aurora is governed by its founder Lord Karl Friedrich, who has been granted non-residential subjectship of the Empire. These two annexations, which took place early on Saturday morning, have increased the land area of the Empire to over 104 acres in total. The Austenasian Times apologises that news of this expansion was not published earlier, due to technical difficulties with internet access.  

New governor for Corinium Terentium

Lord Centurion William Wade yesterday resigned from his position as governor of the Territory of Corinium Terentium. The Territory, surrounded by the British county of Gloucestershire, consists of a large field that is roughly 428,000 square feet, and has been under Austenasian sovereignty since being annexed on 4 May 2013. The Lord Centurion was replaced by Lord Tribune Andrew Jones-Creed-Mortimer, who is also Baron of the territory. Governors are responsible for maintaining and enforcing Austenasian law within the Territory they are assigned to.

New territory annexed as administrative changes take place

A field in the British country of Gloucestershire has been annexed to the Empire as the Territory of Corinium Terentium. The Empire of Austenasia Act 2013, passed at 17:00 this afternoon, annexed the new land to Austenasia as well as making a three-fold division between different types of administrative divisions in the Empire. From now on, all land in Austenasia shall be either a Town, a Territory, or a Crown Dependency. Wrythe and Zephyria remain Towns, but Glencrannog has become a Territory along with Corinium Terentium. Towns and Territories are both fully incorporated into the Empire under the hierarchy of provinces, duchies and regions, but the former are inhabited and represented in Parliament whereas the latter are not. Crown Dependencies are autonomous territories under the direct rule of a representative of the Emperor. The annexation of Corinium Terentium – the first non-contiguous British territory to be added to the Empire since April 2009 – adds a further 428,000 square feet to the Empire. The Territory is governed by Lord Centurion William Wade, a British citizen who lives nearby and who has agreed to enforce Austenasian law in Corinium Terentium as its Governor. A new military unit, Centuria I Gloucestria, has been founded to defend the Territory, and at present has two enlisted soldiers who live within a mile of it. The annexation of Corinium Terentium has necessitated an expansion of the administrative hierarchy – the Province of Greater Corinium and the Duchy of Davidopia have been founded to contain it, within the already existing Region of Inner Austenasia. The title Duke of Davidopia has been granted by Parliament to HIH Emperor Father Terry.