Since the 19th century, there have been proposals for the creation or incorporation of newstates of Australia.Chapter VI of the Constitution of Australia provides for the admission of new states to the federation. Proposals have included admittingterritories to statehood, admitting independent countries (or their dependent territories), and forming new states from parts of existing states. However, no new states have been added since thefederation of six formerBritish self-governing colonies in 1901, as states of the newCommonwealth of Australia.
Unofficial proposals have involved current territories, especially theNorthern Territory (NT) and, to a lesser extent, theAustralian Capital Territory (ACT). Other long-standing proposals have included negotiating the addition of neighbouring countries, such asNew Zealand (as either one or two states),Papua New Guinea,Fiji andEast Timor, and the creation of a state forIndigenous Australians.
Section 124 of the Constitution of Australia provides for the establishment or admission of new states to the federation. TheFederal Parliament may also form a new state by separating territory from an existing state, join multiple states or parts of states, or increase, diminish, or otherwise alter the limits of a state, but in each case, it must have the approval of the parliament(s) of the state(s) in question.[1][2]Section 123 provides that alterations to state boundaries also require the consent of the state's voters via referendum.[3]
In relation to parliamentary representation, the Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform in 1985 recommended[4][5] that territories be entitled to:
Immediately before federation in 1901, the Australian mainland comprised six separate Britishself-governing colonies. Throughout the 19th century, the borders of these colonies changed often, there were numerous proposals for new colonies and, in some instances, new colonies weregazetted, but later dissolved and incorporated (or reincorporated) into other colonies.
In 1838, British Army officerJames Vetch proposed a major reorganisation of the colonial borders in theJournal of the Royal Geographical Society. These proposed colonies were geometric divisions of the continent, and did not take into account soil fertility, aridity or population. This meant that central and western Australia were divided into several states, despite their low populations both then and now.[7]
For several months in 1846, a Colony of North Australia technically existed, with its capital atGladstone. The short-lived colony officially included most of the future Queensland (except Brisbane and surrounding areas) and the future Northern Territory. Between the time it was gazetted, in February 1846 and the time it was officially cancelled, that December, the area of the new colony continued to be controlled by the government of New South Wales; at no point did a separate colonial administration of North Australia take control of it.
There was also a proposal in 1857 for the "Seven United Provinces of Eastern Australia" with separate provinces of Flinders Land, Leicharts (sic) Land (taken from the name ofLudwig Leichhardt) and Cooks Land in modern day Queensland (also named fromJames Cook).[8]
New statism was a major political force in Australia during theinterwar period, calling for the creation of multiple new states in New South Wales and Queensland. Its popularity coincided with the emergence of theCountry Party as a national party advocatingdecentralisation and promotion of new states as part of more general reform of Australia's federal structure, rather than as isolated movements for individual new states.[9]
In 1924, following lobbying from the Country Party-alignedProgressives led byMichael Bruxner, New South Wales premierGeorge Fuller appointed a royal commission into new states. The New States Royal Commission of Inquiry, led byJohn Cohen and known as the Cohen Royal Commission, examined proposals for new states in theMonaro, New England and theRiverina. Its report delivered in 1925 concluded that the proposed new states would be not financially feasible and that the benefits of decentralisation could be delivered by the existing state government.[10]
While new states on the mainland were considered non-feasible, there was motivation to expand beyond the original Federation states. Described by Prime MinisterBilly Hughes as the "AustralianMonroe Doctrine", in the early 1900s early Federation politicians were motivated to expand Australia's presence in thePacific islands through British transfers and annexations.[11] Motivations for this policy included developing a strategic defensive 'ring' in case of an invasion of the Australian mainland, and to access cheap labour following the outlawing ofblackbirding.[12][11] Australian politicians lobbied the United Kingdom for acquisitions ofBritish New Guinea,Colony of Fiji andBritish Solomon Islands, the FrenchTahiti,New Hebrides, andNew Caledonia, and the GermanMarshall Islands.[13][11][14] British New Guinea was transferred to Australia in 1902, becoming the Territory of Papua.
Following the acquisition of Papua, Australia acquired or claimed authority overNorfolk Island,Nauru,Ashmore and Cartier Islands,Heard Island and McDonald Islands,New Guinea,Cocos (Keeling) Islands,Christmas Island,Coral Sea Islands, andAntarctica.[14] However, none of these managed territories ultimately developed into states.
Since 2000, proposals for reorganisation have continued to be put forward.[15] For instance, in 2003,Bryan Pape suggested a reorganisation into about twenty states, each with Senate representation.[16]
Republicanism, changing mineral wealth and tax distribution have been seen as reasons to revisit federation. Proposals include redivision between the local, state and federal levels of government, either consolidation or fragmentation. It has been argued that new technologies in service delivery are enablers of greater decentralisation or are a reason for greater efficiency in centralisation.
There are also supporters of an Aboriginal state, along the lines ofNunavut in Canada. TheAboriginal Provisional Government was established in 1990 for the purpose;[17] Paul Coe sued the Commonwealth for Aboriginal sovereignty (Coe v Commonwealth [1979] HCA 68) and see Kevin Gilbert 'Treaty 88'. All advocated for an Aboriginal state.[18]Agence France Presse (21 August 1998) claims Australia blockeda United Nations resolution calling for the self-determination of peoples, because it would have bolstered support for an Aboriginal state within Australia.[19] Among those supporting such a state are theCouncil for Aboriginal Reconciliation.[20]
Proposed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the state ofAuralia (meaning "land of gold") would have comprised theWestern Australian Goldfields, the western portion of theNullarbor Plain and the port town ofEsperance.[21] Its capital would have beenKalgoorlie.
However, the population in the modern region ofGoldfields-Esperance is currently lower than that of theNorthern Territory, and there is little evidence of recent support, although the idea of a state centred around Kalgoorlie was proposed in 2003.[22]
In 1930,Robert Bedford and other wheatgrowers proposed that theEyre Peninsula become a separate state from South Australia. A conference held inKyancutta discussed the proposal, at which Bedford condemned Eyre Peninsula's "crushing disability of Absentee Centralism in Adelaide as well as Canberra".[23] A proposed name for the new state was "Eyralia".[24]
TheNew England New State Movement was an Australian political movement in the twentieth century. Founded as the Northern Separation Movement, the aim of the movement was to seek thesecession of theNew England region and surrounding areas from the State ofNew South Wales (NSW) and the establishment of a new State of New England. While popular at first and the subject of twoRoyal Commissions, the movement was unsuccessful, and was defeated at areferendum in 1967.[15]
One proposal is that Queensland should be divided by the22nd parallel with the boundary running just south ofSarina on the coast to theNorthern Territory border betweenBoulia andMount Isa, and the capital would beSellheim, nearCharters Towers, to overcome rivalry betweenMackay,Townsville andCairns.[25] The name Capricornia has been proposed for this state.
According toThe Courier-Mail in 2010, the majority of North Queensland Mayors were in favour of the separation from Queensland proper. Only two of the hundred delegates at the NQ Local Government Association meeting were against the proposal – the two being Mayor Val Schier (Cairns) and Mayor Ben Callcott (Charters Towers).[26]
TheNorthern Territory (NT) is the most commonly mentioned potential seventh state.
In a1998 referendum, the voters of the Northern Territory narrowly rejected a statehood proposal that would have given the territory threesenators, rather than the twelve held by the other states, although the name "Northern Territory" would have been retained.
With statehood being rejected, it is likely that the Northern Territory will remain a territory for the near future, though formerChief MinisterClare Martin[27] and the majority of Territorians[28] are said to be in favour of statehood.
While statehood would, under the conditions the original six states federated, give the Northern Territory 12 senators, its population as of 2021 is only 3% of the largest state,New South Wales. This means that whilst one NSW senator represents 682,000 people, one NT senator would represent approximately 21,000 people. By comparison, one Tasmanian senator represents 45,000 people, while one South Australian senator (next smallest state by population) represents 148,000 people. If the NT were only given 3 senators as proposed in the 1998 referendum, each would represent around 63,000 people.
An alternative name for the new state would beNorth Australia, which would be shared by two historic regions. The matter was raised again in July 2015, with a further referendum in 2018 being mooted.[29]
Papua New Guinea is physically closest of any country to geographically remote Australia, with some of theTorres Strait Islands (Boigu,Saibai, e.g.) just off the main island of the country.
Ownership of Papua New Guinea was a concern for the Australian politicians since before Federation. The territory was seen as a natural extension to the Australian colony, with the Territory only being 150km from mainland Australia, nearly half that ofTasmania (250km).[11]
In 1883, theColony of Queensland attempted to annex the east of the island ofNew Guinea, but ultimately rejected by the United Kingdom.[11] The protectorate ofBritish New Guinea was established by the United Kingdom, upon on the condition that the colonies of Australia would contribute to the cost, and that they would take it over following federation.[30]
In November 1901, the newly federatedParliament of Australia passed a resolution authorising the government to accept control of British New Guinea from the United Kingdom and providing for interim funding.[31] In 1902, in a motion authorising the handover of New Guinea, Australian parliamentarians debated whetherBritish New Guinea should be admitted as a territory or state, withAlfred Deakin predicting "the long centuries for which I hope New Guinea is to be a territory, or, perhaps, a State of the Commonwealth."[32]
The southernTerritory of Papua became an Australian colony in 1902, and became officially organised into a territory government in 1905 following thePapua Act 1905. The northernTerritory of New Guinea was seized by Australia from Germany in 1914 and administered as a "C"Mandate of the League of Nations from 1920. Both territories were amalgamated after Second World War into a single Australian colony ofTerritory of Papua and New Guinea.
In 1953, the editor of the conservativeQuadrant magazine, ProfessorJames McAuley, wrote that the territory would be "a coconut republic which would do little good for itself", and advocated its "perpetual union" with Australia, with "equal citizenship rights",[33] but this was rejected by the Australian government.[34]
Following aUnited Nations demand for Papua New Guinean self-governance, there was debate in the 1960s and early 1970s from within the Territory whether they should become an independent nation, or instead become Australia's seventh state.[35] Minister for External TerritoriesCharles Barnes drafted a proposed referendum on the topic of statehood and independence in 1966, but it was ultimately rejected by Cabinet.[35] Amongst several issues, statehood would require a majority vote under a constitutional referendum, and that freedom of movement was out of question due to theWhite Australia Policy.[35] A select committee ofIndigenous people of New Guinea advocating a referendum were ultimately told by theMinister of ImmigrationHubert Opperman that "Whites and blacks are completely different to each other to the extent that they can’t live as equals"[35]
With the option of statehood unilaterally rejected by the federal Australian government, Papua New Guinea was granted self-government and full independence in 1975.[35] Following independence, theTorres Strait Islands remained in Australian control due to its merger into the state ofQueensland.[11]
Princeland was a proposed colony of Australia that would have been formed by the western part of Victoria and the south-eastern part of South Australia. The movement began the early 1860s and resulted in a petition to Queen Victoria, which was ultimately rejected on the grounds that it would involve changes to two separate colonies and could not be done without their expressed permissions.[36]
Riverina is also a proposed state,[16] in theMurray River region, on the border between New South Wales and Victoria. TheDivision of Riverina is currently a smaller area than traditional Riverina, which would include theDivision of Farrer. Along with the ACT, it is one of the few landlocked proposed states.
In December 2020, there was a proposal by Northern Victoria MP Tim Quilty to form a new state from Northeastern Victoria and Southeastern New South Wales, because people in regional areas feel like they are neglected by their state governments. There was also a proposal to form three new states. They are: A new state comprising Greater Geelong and Metropolitan Melbourne; Regional Northeastern Victoria and Southeastern New South Wales combing, and Greater Sydney to become separate states.[37]
Some supporters also propose a "River-Eden" state in the south of NSW and the north of Victoria, which, rather than being landlocked, would stretch eastwards to the coastal town ofEden.[38][15]
There was a small movement in the 1940s to create a new state in south-east New South Wales and north-east Victoria. The proposed state would have reached fromBatemans Bay on the coast toKiandra in theSnowy Mountains, and as far south asSale inVictoria. The proposed state capital wasBega. Despite calls from local advocacy groups for a Royal Commission into the idea, it was met with little success.[39]
During the process ofPortuguese decolonisation inEast Timor in 1974, a political party was formed called ADITLA (Associação Democratica para a Integração de Timor-Leste na Austrália, Democratic Association for the Integration of East Timor into Australia) by local businessman Henrique Pereira. It found some support from theethnic Chinese community, fearful of independence or integration withIndonesia but was disbanded when the Australian government rejected the idea in 1975.[40]
There have been several proposals forNew Zealand to become the seventh state of Australia. One proposal, suggested humorously by theLiberalSenatorIan Macdonald, is that New Zealand'sNorth Island andSouth Island could become the seventh and eighth states of the Commonwealth.[41] New Zealand was one of the colonies asked to join in the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia, even by the time theCommonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Imp) was enacted, that law still provided for New Zealand to be one of the potential states of Australia.[42] Asties have grown closer, people have made proposals for acustoms union,currency union and even a jointdefence force. New Zealand and Australia enjoy close economic and political relations, mainly by way of theTrans-Tasman Travel Arrangement,Closer Economic Relations (CER) free trade agreement signed in 1983 and the Closer Defence Relations agreement signed in 1990. In 1989, then-Prime Minister of New ZealandSir Geoffrey Palmer said that New Zealand had "gained most of the advantages of being a state of Australia without becoming one". The two countries, along with the United States, were the original parties ofANZUS.
In 1788,Arthur Phillip assumed the position ofGovernor of New South Wales, claiming New Zealand as part ofNew South Wales. In 1835, a group of Māori chiefs signed theDeclaration of Independence, which established New Zealand as a sovereign nation. A few years later, theTreaty of Waitangi re-established British control of New Zealand. TheFederal Council of Australasia was formed with members representing New Zealand, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Fiji. Although it held no official power it was a step into the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia.
In 1890, there was an informal meeting of members from the Australasian colonies, this was followed by the first National Australasian convention a year later. The New Zealand representatives stated it would be unlikely to join a federation with Australia at its foundation, but it would be interested in doing so at a later date. New Zealand's position was taken into account when the Constitution of Australia was written up. Australia, in an attempt to sway New Zealand to join, gave Māori the right to vote in 1902, while Australian Aboriginal people did not fully gain the right to vote at national elections until 1962.[43] In 1908 and 1912, Australia and New Zealand sentAustralasians teams to the Olympic Games. New Zealand and Australian soldiers fought together in 1915 under the nameANZAC.
Australian academic Bob Catley wrote a book titledWaltzing with Matilda: should New Zealand join Australia?, a book arguing that New Zealand should become one with Australia, which was described by New Zealand political commentatorColin James as "a book for Australians".[44] In December 2006, an Australian Federal Parliamentary Committee recommended that Australia and New Zealand pursue a full union, or at least adopt a common ANZ currency and more common markets. The Committee found that "while Australia and New Zealand are of course two sovereign nations, it seems... that the strong ties between the two countries – the economic, cultural, migration, defence, governmental and people-to-people linkages – suggest that an even closer relationship, including the possibility of union, is both desirable and realistic." This was despite theAustralian TreasurerPeter Costello andNew Zealand Minister of FinanceMichael Cullen saying that a common currency was "not on the agenda".[45]
A 2010 UMR research poll asked 1000 people in Australia and New Zealand a series of questions relating to New Zealand's becoming the seventh state of Australia. One quarter of the people thought it was something to look into. Over 40% thought the idea was worth debating. More Australians than New Zealanders would support such a move.[46]
In 2011, theJoin Australia Movement Party in New Zealand advocated for political unity between New Zealand andAustralia,[47] dissolving the same year.
In 2023, during Labour MPJamie Strange's valedictory speech, he said that New Zealanders "shouldn't rule... out" becoming one country with Australia.[48][49]
A leading factor for the proposal of New Zealand as a state of Australia is the major economic benefits it could bring. However,free trade and open borders now appear to be the maximum extent of public acceptance of the proposal. There are many family connections between the two nations, with around 500,000 New Zealanders living in Australia and 60,000 Australians living in New Zealand as of 2013.Peter Slipper, a former Member of Australia's Parliament, once said, "It's about how can we improve the quality of living for people on both sides of the Tasman" when referring to the proposal.[50]
Concerns have been expressed about the need for a common currency.[51]
A number of disparities that could lead to conflict include the current constitutions (written inAustralia,unwritten inNew Zealand), and the status of political rights (constitutionallyentrenched inAustralia but not inNew Zealand). Some New Zealanders feel they have established a national identity, one which they feel they may lose if they became part of Australia.[46] Others argue New Zealand is too far away from the mainland of Australia.[52]
With regard to Senate representation, the ACT and the Northern Territory will have at least two senators, and beyond this they will have one senator for every two members of the House of Representatives they are entitled to. Other Commonwealth territories shall have one senator for every two members.[86] The committee further concluded that: … constitutional change is required so that representation of territories and new states in the Parliament in future occurs according to principles acceptable to the Australian community. Constitutional amendments along the lines of the formulae we have proposed for inclusion in the Electoral Act … would meet the problems and anomalies that have been disclosed to exist under the Constitution at present.[87] Although not directly the subject of this paper, it is noteworthy that this committee recommended that 'no new State should be admitted to the Federation on terms and conditions as to representation in the Parliament more favourable than those prescribed for representation of Territories in the Electoral Act'.[88] This aspect of the report appears to have been directed at preventing the Northern Territory from gaining greater representation should it achieve statehood and was strongly criticised in a dissent by Senator Michael Macklin.[89]
The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory shall be entitled to representation in the Senate on the basis that each Territory shall return one Senator for every two Members of the House of Representatives it is entitled to return [...] [...] The Majority Report in paragraph 4.1 says: It is [the Committee] is strongly of the view that the principles we have determined as appropriate to apply to the representation of Territories in the Parliament should also apply upon the admission of new States to the Federation I see no reason, constitutional or otherwise, as to why this ought be the case.
(2) Where the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory at a general election is 6 or more, that Territory shall, on and from the day of the general election, be represented in the Senate by one senator for every 2 members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in that Territory.
AusMonroe was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2026 (link)Global governance and identity | |
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