Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, King defended her support for the Beetaloo basin south of Darwin after being asked whether she was comfortable with the impact its emissions would have on Australians. She described the basin as a very important resource for the Northern Territory and for supplying gas to Australia's east coast and export markets.
King said the development followed a landmark 2018 scientific investigation into fracking, known as the Pepper inquiry, which made 135 recommendations including that onshore shale gas developments should not increase the country's total emissions. In practice, that would require pollution from extraction, processing, transport and the fuel's use to be fully offset.
“My understanding from those recommendations is that the emissions are accounted for and offset, but I would have to check that,” King told the press club.
The Northern Territory government does not require emissions from the Beetaloo basin to be offset. The Guardian reported that the previous Labor territory government dropped the requirement after the gas industry objected, and the Country Liberal party government, elected in 2024, has maintained that position.
Some emissions from gas developments in the NT must be offset under the federal safeguard mechanism, which applies to facilities emitting more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. But that applies only to direct pollution from the facility, not the full lifecycle emissions covered by the Pepper inquiry's recommendation.
Research by Tim Baxter of the consultancy Naru Research found about 95% of emissions expected from four gas projects in the basin this decade would not have to be offset. Baxter said King either “isn't across her brief or she's being intentionally misleading”.
King said the safeguard mechanism would be applied to Beetaloo developments if emissions were above the threshold. “That is how we manage dealing with emissions in this country,” she said.