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Treaty of Wellington

The Treaty of Wellington was the central pillar of the agreements that led to the independence of New England in 2012. The treaty was negotiated over several months in mid 2011 and was agreed to by Australian, New England and New Zealand representatives on 22 October 2011. With the formal signing of the treaty, the Civil War was brought to an end.

The treaty was voted on by the people of New England on the 5 November 2011. It was approved in the Local Government Areas that would on to form New England. These areas where Armidale-Dumaresq, Barraba, Bellinger, Bingara, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Glen Innes-Severnshire, Guyra, Inverell, Kempsey, Manilla, Nambucca, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Tenterfield, Uralla and Walcha.

Provisions

The provisions of the treaty can be roughly summed up in six key points:

  1. That the constitutional future of New England should be determined by the majority vote of its people alone.
  2. That there was a commitment by all parties to exclusively peaceful and democratic means for resolving any future dispute.
  3. That as soon as the writs for the referendum were returned, and if the vote was in favour, there would be an Transitional Government established with devolved legislative powers.
  4. That there would be a Intergovernmental Council to bring about cross-border cooperation in policy and programs on a number of issues, and ensure the future enforcement of the treaty.
  5. That within two years all prisoners belonging to organisations observing the ceasefire and the spirit of the treaty would be released. Furthermore, all weapons of the militia would be decommissioned within three months.
  6. That there would be a full demilitarisation of all Australian Defence Force bases, or the facilitation of their handover to the New Englanders, within a year.

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Referendum

On the 5 November 2011 there was a referendum held in all areas of north-east New South Wales to endorse the Treaty. The negotiations had allowed for the division of a number of local government areas to be as they were before the amalgamations of the 2000's.

In the area was known as the core of New England, the vote was carried easily. The "No" vote came predominantly from from those outer areas that had not been affected by the fighting and violence of the Civil War. However, a large number of people outside the core of the New England area voted "Yes". The results are pictured below.

Immediately after the vote, allegations of vote rigging and lost ballot boxes surfaced. In areas where it had been expected the vote would carry - Taree and Warialda, these allegations were the strongest. In Taree the vote failed 54.5% to 45.5%, while in Warialda, the final vote was a much closer 50.2% to 49.8%. Later investigations by the New England government after independence could not find any firm evidence of vote rigging.

Results of the Treaty of Wellington Referenda
Graphic results of the Treaty of Wellington vote
# District Approved Disapproved # District Approved Disapproved
1 Armidale-Dumaresq 98.02 1.98 19 Hastings 66.67 33.33
2 Ballina 16.05 84.95 20 Inverell 67.89 32.11
3 Bellingen 76.85 23.15 21 Kempsey 73.22 26.78
4 Brewarrina 41.21 58.79 22 Kyogle 41.87 58.13
5 Bourke 36.65 63.35 23 Lismore 22.38 77.62
6 Byron 18.05 81.95 24 Liverpool Plains 44.81 55.19
7 Clarence Valley East 76.96 23.04 25 Moree Plains 44.29 55.71
8 Clarence Valley West 66.00 34.00 26 Nambucca 78.37 21.63
9 Coffs Harbour 87.19 12.81 27 Narrabri 40.76 59.24
10 Coonable 32.66 67.34 28 Richmond Valley 34.34 65.66
11 Glen Innes-Severnshire 94.34 5.66 29 Tamworth Region North 84.99 15.01
12 Gloucester 34.48 65.52 30 Tamworth Region South 31.14 68.86
13 Great Lakes 32.41 67.59 31 Tenterfield 65.55 34.45
14 Greater Taree 45.23 54.77 32 Tweed 7.89 92.11
15 Gunnedah 43.84 56.16 33 Uralla 83.90 16.10
16 Guyra 97.02 2.98 34 Walcha 77.04 22.96
17 Gwydir North 49.82 50.18 35 Walgett 42.81 57.19
18 Gwydir South 72.63 27.37 36 Warrumbungle 28.70 71.30

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For the full text, see the Text of the Treaty of Wellington.

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