Proposals for new Australian states
[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 British self-governing colonies.
[7]) These proposed colonies were geometric divisions of the continent, and did not take into account soil fertility, aridity or population.
However, the population in the modern region of Goldfields-Esperance is currently lower than that of the Northern Territory, and there is little evidence of recent support, although the idea of a state centred around Kalgoorlie was proposed in 2003.
[10] During the process of Portuguese decolonisation in East 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 the ethnic Chinese community, fearful of independence or integration with Indonesia but was disbanded when the Australian government rejected the idea in 1975.
In 1953, the editor of the conservative Quadrant magazine, Professor James 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",[13] but this was rejected by the Australian government.
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.
The proposed state would have reached from Batemans Bay on the coast to Kiandra in the Snowy Mountains, and as far south as Sale in Victoria.
Proposals include redivision between the local, state and federal levels of government, either consolidation or fragmentation.
In 1835, a group of Māori chiefs signed the Declaration of Independence, which established New Zealand as a sovereign nation.
The Federal Council of Australasia was formed with members representing New Zealand, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Fiji.
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 the Australian Treasurer Peter Costello and New Zealand Minister of Finance Michael Cullen saying that a common currency was "not on the agenda".
In 2023 during Labour MP Jamie Strange valedictory speech he said that New Zealanders "shouldn't rule... out" becoming one country with Australia.
[30] A leading factor for the proposal of New Zealand as a state of Australia is the major economic benefits it could bring.
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.
[33] One proposal is that Queensland should be divided by the 22nd parallel with the boundary running just south of Sarina on the coast to the Northern Territory border between Boulia and Mount Isa, and the capital would be Sellheim, near Charters Towers, to overcome rivalry between Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.
If the NT were only given 3 senators as proposed in the 1998 referendum, each would represent around 63,000 people (along with a higher quota for election) An alternative name for the new state would be North Australia, which would be shared by two historic regions.
[38] Riverina is also a proposed state,[18] in the Murray River region, on the border between New South Wales and Victoria.
[39] 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 of Eden.
