A self-declared “prince” of a group of islands off Western Australia has been fined $4,600 for eight offences, including accessing protected waters surrounding what he claimed to be a “micronation”.
Key points:
- Fisherman Kristin MacDonald was accused of accessing infrastructure and protected waters without consent
- He was found guilty on eight of 17 charges, and acquitted on nine
- The magistrate said MacDonald’s jurisdictional arguments did not make sense and did not offer him protection
Kristin Rodney Donald MacDonald received the fine in the Geraldton Magistrates Court after convictions on eight charges brought by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
In the verdict handed down on Wednesday, MacDonald was acquitted of nine charges, which followed a four-day trial earlier this year in which he represented himself.
He had pleaded not guilty to 17 charges, including travelling without notice to the Abrolhos Islands, a protected fish habitat off Geraldton, unlawfully using a jetty, failing to comply with directions by fisheries officers, and running a charter fishing tour without a license.
Most of the alleged offending was said to have happened on Uncle Margie Island within the Abrolhos Islands.
Access to the archipelago is closely monitored.
During the trial, MacDonald presented the magistrate with a lever arch file containing hundreds of pages questioning the jurisdiction of the court to hear the charges.
The file contained historical legislation, a petition to Queen Elizabeth II to “return the security to the people”, and claimed the Commonwealth of Australia was a private company.
Magistrate Heidi Watson considered what she called MacDonald’s “jurisdictional” arguments, but said they showed a “gross misunderstanding” of the law and had previously been rejected by the Supreme Court.
However, as Magistrate Heidi Watson went through her lengthy decision, she found that the prosecution had not convinced her beyond reasonable doubt on a number of charges.
She also did not convict MacDonald on any charges relating to his use of the jetty, as she said he honestly believed part of the jetty belonged to him.
The prosecution urged the magistrate to consider deterrence, saying MacDonald’s offending had shown a “deliberate and flagrant attempt” to undermine the department’s management of the islands.
Prosecutors sought costs of $27,000 for the case, which they said at times had three solicitors working on it.
They also sought an application to prohibit MacDonald from going back to the island for two years.
‘What I did was wrong’
Speaking ahead of his sentence, MacDonald said his mental health had been an issue at the time and he had felt threatened by fisheries officers.
“I know what I did was wrong obviously,” he said.
“I don’t understand the law obviously.”
Magistrate Watson believed he was now clearer on the law, and that the jurisdictional arguments he made did not make sense and did not offer him protection.
“Fisheries officers, for example, do have jurisdiction, that you are not prince of the Abroholos … and that you need to do what fisheries officers ask of you,” she said.
Magistrate Watson said the Abrolhos Islands were a beautiful part of the world with many benefits to protecting it.
“People need to know they can’t flout the law … the way they know that is when they hear of what people do … that they hear of the penalty and they think twice about doing it themselves,” she said.
She dismissed the prohibition application and ordered MacDonald pay $4,000 in costs, noting she had never had the prosecution seek costs against a self-represented person where they had been acquitted of charges.