Minister of State Pippa Hackett has announced the launch of a new public portal for forestry licencing.
The new portal, which was announced today (Thursday, December 3) by Minister Hackett – who has responsibility for land use and biodiversity – is called the ‘Forestry Licence Viewer (FLV)’ and will “provide free online access for the public to view forestry licence applications decisions”.
Making the announcement, Minister Hackett said: “I am delighted to announce the release of the FLV.
This portal will provide members of the public with easier online access to forestry licence applications and will in time provide a repository of information on forestry licences, both applications and decisions.
“The portal enhances public participation in decisions on forestry licences and it also continues the department’s commitment to providing digital services to our customers,” she added.
The FLV will be launched in three phases, with today marking the launch of Phase 1. The first phase will show high-level site information for all applications since January 1, 2018, and the status of those applications.
Phase 2 will be released shortly, the minister noted, and will show application documentation on applications received from the date that phase goes live, including site assessments, reports and decisions.
“I gave commitments in the debate on the recent Forestry Act that I would be working towards aligning the forestry licencing and other planning processes. This is a major step in meeting those commitments and ensuring transparency and it will undoubtedly enhance public participation in decisions on forestry planning,” Minister Hackett said.
She concluded: “I’m certain that interested users will find it to be user-friendly and informative. The next phases of the project will follow shortly and will enhance it even further.”