The Australian State Building and Colonization of the Northern Territory

The Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea were seen as often called the Achilles heel of Australia. It's long been seen as this kind of area that Australia is vulnerable to invasion but it's also an area that has had very few whites settled there. And so why then would the Australian state incorporate the Northern Territories into its sort of you know into its nation whereas Papua New Guinea was pushed for it to become independent. Like why not make the Northern Territories independent as well? It's a great question.