Acquisitions to the parks system may involve the:
- purchase of private land
- transfer of public land.
Proposals involving private land purchases
It is usually not possible for the community to be involved in our process of purchasing private land. When land is offered for sale the dealings are commercial-in-confidence and a landowner’s privacy and confidentiality must be respected. Your views on a private acquisition can only be sought when a landowner has agreed to this.
However, there is a level of indirect community involvement in our land purchases via the NSW Environmental Trust. The Environmental Trust is an independent statutory body established by the NSW government to fund and supervise the expenditure of grants. The trust funds most of our land purchases.
Proposals involving public land transfers
The community may be able to be involved in acquisition proposals for public land provided:
- the government agency responsible for the land supports this
- it is not part of a broader public land assessment that requires other consultation mechanisms.
Public land of most interest to us is usually relatively small and sits within or next to an existing park.
We seek community input for our decision-making process when proposals to acquire public land involve:
- large parcels of land
- land that is currently being used for activities that would be unlikely to continue if the land was acquired because they are incompatible with national park objectives
- potential adverse socio-economic impacts on a local community.