The conduct of public land use inquiries is prescribed in Part 2 of the Public Land (Administration and Forests) Act 1991. Inquiries are initiated by a reference from the Minister for Planning. The terms of reference are exhibited publicly and may be changed as a consequence of submissions received.
In the conduct of each inquiry, the Commission is required to prepare and seek public comment on a background report and a proposed recommendations report. A background report describes all the known environmental, social, economic, industrial and recreational resources of the public land under investigation. A draft recommendations report contains any additional information gained from the public consultation process, the Commission's response to the issues raised in public submissions and draft recommendations. The final recommendations report is presented to the Minister who must table it in both Houses of Parliament and make copies available to the public.
In making public land use recommendations, the Commission must further the objectives of the Resource Management and Planning System and seek balanced outcomes.
Set out below is a diagrammatic representation of the inquiry process.
