the government of western australia determined it could do nothing without the intervention of the commonwealth. the governor-general of australia, sir paul hasluck, later stated that it was unconstitutional for the commonwealth to intervene in the secession. in letters with the governor-general's office, casley was called the "administrator of the hutt river province" by mistake. the royal prerogative, makes this recognition binding on all courts. after the government threatened him with prosecution, casley styled himself "his royal highness prince leonard i of hutt" to take advantage of a commonwealth law that a monarch could not only "not" be charged, but that anyone who interfered with his duties could be charged with treason. although the law in this matter has since changed, the australian government has not taken any action against hutt river since the declaration. under australian law, the government had two years to respond to casley's declaration; the failure to respond gave the province "de facto" legal status on 21 april 1972.