The

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

(NT) is the most commonly mentioned potential seventh state of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The most common proposed name for the state is Northern Australia (to match with the state of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

; an alternative would be North Australia to match with the state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

). In a 1998 referendum, the voters of the Northern Territory rejected a statehood proposal that would have given the territory three senators, rather than the twelve held by the other states, although the name "Northern Territory" would have been retained. Alongside what was cited as an "arrogant" approach adopted by then Chief Minister

Shane Stone Shane Leslie Stone (born 25 September 1950) is an Australian political figure. He is a member and former leader of the Country Liberal Party, and was the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory between May 1995 and February 1999. Since Oct ...

, it is believed that most Territorians, regardless of their general views on statehood, were reluctant to adopt the particular model that was being voted on. Currently, the

Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP), commonly known as the Country Liberals, is a centre-right and conservative political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In territory politics, it operates in a two-party system wi ...

is the only party in federal parliament that supports Northern Territory Statehood. In July 2015, members of the

Council of Australian Governments The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) was the primary intergovernmental forum in Australia from 1992 to 2020. Comprising the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local G ...

unanimously agreed with then Northern Territory Chief Minister

Adam Giles Adam Graham Giles (né Romer; born 10 April 1973) is an Australian former politician and former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (2013–2016) as well as the former leader of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) in the unicameral Northern T ...

that the territory should become its own state by 2018. This never happened. It has been suggested that statehood for the Northern Territory may lead to a change in the

Australian flag The national flag of Australia is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a representation of the Southern C ...

. The design elements of the Australian flag have been changed seven times since it was first flown on 3 September 1901. However, in 1908 a seventh point was added to the

Commonwealth Star The Commonwealth Star (also known as the Federation Star, the Seven Point Star, or the Star of Federation) is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901, originally as a six-pointed star ...

to represent the Australian territories—originally this star had six points, one for each of the former colonies. Should the Northern Territory become a state then consideration may be given to adding another point to the Commonwealth Star. However at the time of the 1998 referendum the Australian government stated that the flag would not change even if Territorians voted for statehood. The

Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...

appointed their first Minister for Statehood in 2006.

References

{{reflist Proposed states and territories of Australia Northern Territory Government

See also

References