Australia's Northern Territory set to be granted statehood by 2018

Australia's Northern Territory ( NT) could be granted statehood before the end of the decade, after its Chief Minister's proposal received unanimous backing at a meeting of the country's political leaders in Sydney on Wednesday.

The communique from the meeting, released on Thursday, said that all state premiers, as well as the prime minister, fully support a move to grant the Northern Territory with statehood by July 2018.

Currently, as a territory of Australia, NT enacts its own local laws which the federal government has the power to override. Should statehood be granted, the federal government would no longer be able to intervene in state law.

The NT's presence in the senate would also likely increase from the current two senators up to 12 senators, in accordance with all other states.

However, other states are likely to oppose granting 12 senators to the Northern Territory, which has a population of just 244,000, while states such as New South Wales have 12 senators representing 7.5 million people.

The communique said finer details would be discussed at the following meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), expected to be held later this year.

"Leaders also supported the Northern Territory Chief Minister' s resolve for the NT to become Australia's seventh state by July 1, 2018. The chief minister will report on progress at the next COAG meeting," it read.

"This is an ambitious agenda and one that will take time to fully implement, however we are determined to clearly communicate the scale of the challenges facing our country and encourage the community to join in the national discussion."

First regarded as a pioneer outpost, the Northern Territory is the epitome of the Australian outback, with harsh landscapes and dangerous terrain preventing agricultural and livestock farming, while its extensive array of desert is home to only the most resilient flora and fauna.

More than half the state's population is located in the territory's sea-side capital, Darwin.

The leaders' meeting is also a unanimous push to levy the goods and services tax (GST) onto online shopping items, including those from overseas, while despite opposition from the Victorian and Queensland premiers, a rise in the GST from 10 percent to 15 percent was still "on the table."

The communique reaffirmed that all state and national leaders were committed to doing the right thing for all Australians.

"There was a unanimous commitment among leaders that we need to confront these issues head on and keep an open mind on ways to better fund the needs of our citizens," it said. Endi