Yes, taking a step back to 1900, we were to be annexed to Australia as another State just as Tasmania is...
Commonwealth Of Australia Constitution Act
...
6. "The Commonwealth" shall mean the Commonwealth of Australia as established under this Act.
"The States" shall mean such of the colonies of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia, including the northern territory of South Australia, as for the time being are parts of the Commonwealth, and such colonies or territories as may be admitted into or established by the Commonwealth as States; and each of such parts of the Commonwealth shall be called "a State".
"Original States" shall mean such States as are parts of the Commonwealth at its establishment.
AFAIK, This has not been repealed...
from here...
www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/Constitution/preamble New Zealand Withdraws from Federation:
Hopes for a complete union fade
The New Zealand representatives who came to the Australasian Federation Conference and the National Australasian Convention were, at first, in strong support of federation. However, they came uncompromisingly protective of the amount of power and number of functions that they would be obliged to surrender to the new government. Hoping that each State of the new federation would be more autonomous, and the functions of the new federal government more limited, they departed on both occasions with disappointment, unrealised dreams and unmet expectations.
"... and what I have hoped and desired, was that the time had now come ... when a constitution such as the world has not yet seen, would be given to a free people; and when I heard the language to-day, ... the heart began to sink, and the hopes that seemed so near realisation appeared to be fading away."
Sir George Grey, NZ Representative,
National Australasian Convention
17 March 1891
The new federation was destined to become much more of a tightly bound union of Australia than a loosely bound union of Australasia. The constitution and question of federation proved unacceptable for a number of reasons:
The New Zealand representatives agreed that a unified navy was advantageous, but rejected the notion of a unified army, in the belief that should New Zealand come under enemy attack or invasion, it would take too long for assistance to arrive by ship from the continent, and ... vice versa ... should the continent come under attack or invasion, it would take too long for assistance to arrive by ship from New Zealand.
New Zealand raised around one third of her total revenue from trade tariffs, duties and excise, much of which came from the other six colonies, and a customs union would have limited New Zealand's capacity to raise revenue.
The seat of government for the new federation, located between Sydney and Melbourne, and not within the sight or hearing of New Zealanders, was thought to be too distant to be effective.
New Zealand was not willing to have her finest political minds occupy themselves with federal matters on the continent and to be distant in the federal capital, far from New Zealand for much of the year.
New Zealand was geographically not part of Australia, the two being separated by a stormy sea. It was the New Zealand representative Captain William Russell Russell who proposed a change to the new nation's name, from the Commonwealth of Australasia to the Commonwealth of Australia, indicating his preference for his colony to withdraw interest in the process.
Although New Zealanders shared a common heritage, language and lifestyle with the Australian colonies, New Zealanders were likely to develop their own national identity due to their physical isolation from the continent and due to the climate contrasting drastically with that of the continent.
The system of plural voting, accepted in the National Australasian Convention, would have denied New Zealanders a fair and representative vote in Commonwealth elections, allocating more power to landowners.
Maori affairs formed an integral and important component of New Zealand politics, and New Zealand was reluctant to share these responsibilities with a distant government who knew and cared little about the native situation.
Parts taken from...
www.oocities.org/nzstatehood/History is always interesting!!