Chief Minister Michael Gunner has just announced the Cabinet decision to allow development of the Territory’s vast onshore shale gas reserves.

The Katherine Times will be there and intends to livestream that decision on our Facebook page from 9am.

It had imposed a moratorium on the development until an expert scientific panel investigated the risks involved in fracking.

That expert panel, chaired by Justice Rachel Pepper, last month said the risks were acceptable as long as a large number of recommendations were adopted.

The Government has been under great pressure to lift the moratorium because of its ailing finances and the need to create more jobs in the NT to fill the vacuum left by the wind-down of the vast Inpex project.

Katherine residents have led the many voices opposing the use of fracking in the NT to extract the gas from shale rocks deep underground.