Editing Ashmore and Cartier Islands (section)

===Proposed Northern Territory annexation===
The [[Northern Territory]] government has claimed on multiple occasions (1989, 1996) that the Ashmore and Cartier Islands should be returned to their jurisdiction, instead of remaining a separate territory.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Long Road to Statehood: Report of the inquiry into the federal implications of statehood for the Northern Territory House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/284014 | date=May 2007 | access-date=22 May 2023 | page=17 |hdl=10070/284014 |ref={{sfnref|The Long Road to Statehood|2007}} }}</ref> The [[Australian House of Representatives]] Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs recommended in a 1991 report that the Northern Territory annex the islands.{{sfn|The Long Road to Statehood|2007|p=96}} In 1998, [[John Howard]]'s [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]] debated the issue in the leadup to the [[1998 Northern Territory referendum|1998 Northern Territory statehood referendum]], and stated in a campaign release that it would "pursue incorporation of the Ashmore & Cartier Islands into the Northern Territory before or at the time of Statehood".<ref name="Garrick 2020">{{cite web | last=Garrick | first=Matt | title=Ghan land acquisition contingency had green light from Howard government, documents show – ABC News | website=ABC | date=January 1, 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-02/ghan-plans-revealed-in-john-howard-government-documents/11810508 | access-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref><ref name="ASPI 2018">{{cite web | title=Coalition Foreign Affairs Statement: Our Indian Ocean Territories | website=ASPI | date=July 26, 2018 | url=http://www.aspi.org.au/aspi-election-policy-library/2007/2007-coalition | access-date=May 22, 2023}} Website incorrectly filed the statement under 2007, but the statement itself says it was released 30 September 1998.</ref> However, these efforts did not lead to any changes.