Arabic version: أسهم مستشارة سابقة في الإقليم الشمالي بشركة بيتالو تثير تساؤلات بشأن الشفافية

According to ABC News, former Northern Territory ministerial adviser Sonia Harvey says she disclosed her shares in gas producer Beetaloo Energy before joining the office of Treasurer and Infrastructure Minister Bill Yan in March 2025. Harvey, who had worked for the company for three years until July 2024, said she complied with requirements for ministerial staff and left Yan’s office in September for personal reasons.

Beetaloo Energy’s share register showed Harvey held 62,500 shares throughout her tenure in Yan’s office, which ABC News reported would currently be worth about $13,750. The ABC said it did not suggest wrongdoing by Harvey. She said she was not privy to information about the company’s gas supply appraisal agreement with the NT government and had no engagement with Beetaloo Energy while working in the minister’s office.

During Harvey’s tenure, the NT government signed an agreement securing appraisal gas from Beetaloo Energy’s Beetaloo Basin fracking project for the territory’s energy grid. Yan also announced tenders relating to the basin, including a $68 million contract for stage three of the Carpentaria Highway upgrade and a contract worth more than $900,000 for technical advice on the proposed Territory Energy Link.

Harvey said she was not responsible for government budget or funding decisions, procurement processes, or the assessment and award of tenders. A spokesperson for Yan said she had declared her interests in line with the NT ministerial staff code of conduct. The code requires staff to ensure personal or financial interests do not influence, or appear to influence, their duties, and to complete a conflict-of-interest declaration at the earliest opportunity.

Transparency International Australia chief executive Clancy Moore said the government should explain how the conflict was managed, including when the shares were disclosed, who assessed the matter, and what safeguards applied to decision-making and confidential information. Neither Harvey nor the NT government provided ABC News with a copy of the declaration form. The ABC said it lodged a Freedom of Information request for the document, which had not been acknowledged by the chief minister’s office.