TONY Abbott has been caught out on his Australian flag knowledge while sitting in front of 10 of them.

The Prime Minister, flanked by state and territory leaders in Sydney today, was asked if the flag could change if the Northern Territory was granted state status.

The Australian flag includes a seven-pointed Commonwealth star which represents the six states and one point for the territories.

“I’m not in favour of changing the flag, I’ve got to say, although I have to say that the Commonwealth star was to be a 7-pointed star rather than a 6-pointed star, that’s hardly a massive change,” Mr Abbott told the Council of Australian Governments press conference.

media_camera Abbott flanked by Premiers and flags today. Picture: Dean Lewins / AAP

The original 1901 flag star had a six-pointed star to represent the original states, while a seventh was added in 1908 to represent the Australian territories.

Mr Abbott’s use of multiple flags at press conferences has often been ridiculed by his political foes.

But he admitted adding an extra point would be “evolution rather than a revolution”.

“We all acknowledge that this is a very longstanding aspiration on the part of the Territory, it is a bipartisan desire, as I understand it, on the part of Territorians, and, look, we are prepared to work with the Territory to see how it can be done,” he said.