NT deputy chief minister's family link to $40b data centre company plans

In short:

NT Deputy Chief Minister has spruiked Beetaloo Digital's plans for a hyperscale data centre to be built near Darwin, despite his sister-in-law working for the firm.

Mr Maley and his sister-in-law, Bethaney Maley, say they have made all the required disclosures to the NT government and Beetaloo Digital.

The Centre for Public Integrity is calling for more transparency in how NT ministerial code of conduct declarations are made.

The Northern Territory deputy chief minister has been spruiking a gas company granted rights to 185 hectares of government land to build a $40 billion data centre, without publicly disclosing his sister-in-law works for the firm.

Gerard Maley, also the NT's energy minister, jointly announced the deal at a press conference on July 22.

"This is a great opportunity to show the Territory is open for business on the back of the gas industry," Mr Maley said at the time.

The so-called "do not deal" agreement gives Beetaloo Digital exclusive rights over the land, granting them time to secure investors and work out whether the hyperscale data centre project is viable.

Mr Maley's sister-in-law, Bethaney Maley, a former journalist and public relations expert, is working for Beetaloo Digital — a subsidiary of gas company Beetaloo Energy — in a "strategic engagement" role.

In a statement, Mr Maley said he had made "all required declarations in accordance with the Ministerial Code of Conduct and Guidelines".

When asked to provide proof of where and how he made the declaration, a spokesperson for Mr Maley said it was made "in accordance with the standard process".

Beetaloo Energy said in a short statement that "Bethaney Maley is an employee of Beetaloo Digital" and that "all proper disclosures have been made".

The NT's Disclosure Act does not require Mr Maley to disclose the link on his public register of interest.

However, the code of conduct says ministers "must declare any conflicts between their personal interests and public duties, including conflicts involving their Close Family Members, when they arise".

According to the code of conduct, "close family members may include a Minister's parents and siblings, extended family members such as uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents; and family, kinship or cultural connections (even if not directly related) such as elders, godparents, and people considered to be like-family".

"Ministers are to take a broad 'reasonable person' view when considering the capacity to be influenced, having regard to community perception and expectation of the highest standards of conduct by ministers," the code of conduct reads.

In an unrelated disclosure, the members' register of interest at NT Parliament House shows that Mr Maley did disclose he was gifted two tickets to a separate Beetaloo Energy event on July 4 this year, which his office told the ABC he did not end up attending.

Call for more transparency over link

Anthony Whealy KC from the Centre for Public Integrity said the lack of a public disclosure by Mr Maley could potentially erode public trust in the new data centre plans.

"In a development of this size and dimension, it's fundamentally important that any possible conflict of interest or apprehension of bias be made clear, by disclosure, at the earliest possible moment," he said.

"You have to have a disclosure that is fulsome, transparent and informs everybody, not just fellow ministers.

"Because it's the perception of a conflict of interest that does the damage."

Mr Whealy also said that although Mr Maley was not required under the Act to make his disclosure public, there needed to be more transparency in how code of conduct declarations were made.

"If the public are not told about it, the problem of it is there emerges a perception of absolute distrust and disquiet in the community.

"It's just such a bad look.

"As soon as the project is floated I would think that he's under an obligation to disclose that relationship with his sister-in-law."

Maleys also co-own business together

Bethaney Maley is also a company co-owner with Mr Maley: ASIC records show the family members are two of the three shareholders in Ammarula Pty Ltd.

The other shareholder in Ammarula is prominent Darwin lawyer Peter Maley, the brother of Gerard and husband of Bethaney.

ASIC records also show Gerard, Bethaney and Peter Maley have all held interests in Maley Pty Ltd and Secrett Road Farm Pty Ltd at various times.

Mr Whealy also said the perceived conflict surrounding Beetaloo Digital was "compounded" by the Maleys holding shares in Ammarula Pty Ltd.

In 2024, Mr Maley declared his shareholding in Ammarula Pty Ltd in his register of members' interests.

In response to questions about what Ammarula does, Mr Maley's spokesperson said it is a "company which owns one block of land in Darwin, namely 17 Cavenagh Street" — the site of Peter Maley's legal practice.

CLP pushing data centre industry

The NT Country Liberal Party government has been spruiking the territory as a potential "data centre capital of the globe", with Beetaloo Digital's proposal the main player.

Last month, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro claimed she had secured a win in national cabinet that would allow the project to be powered by gas from the burgeoning Beetaloo Sub-Basin, despite federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen rejecting a carve out had been agreed.

Mr Bowen has told the ABC that national standards would still require data centres to bring their own "100 per cent" renewal energy, plus firming through battery storage and gas.

The NT government has been celebrating the first gas to be fracked from the Beetaloo Sub-Basin, with the taps turned on by US-backed gas company Tamboran Resources last week.