56Consultation with persons who have made submissions to clarify matters in submissions

56 Consultation with persons who have made submissions to clarify matters in submissions

(1) As part of a review under section 54, the assessment committee may meet with, or correspond with, a person who has made a submission in order to clarify a matter arising from the submission.

(2) An assessment committee must make a record of every meeting it has with a person under subsection (1).

(3) An assessment committee must cause all correspondence between itself and a person who has made a submission and all records referred to in subsection (2) to be published on the Department's Internet site unless—

(a) the person claims, when meeting with the committee or in correspondence with the committee, that the information they provide is or contains confidential information; and

(b) the committee decides that that information is or contains confidential information.

(4) Information given to an assessment committee that has been claimed under this section to contain confidential information, and that the committee has decided contains confidential information, may be published if that confidential information is omitted.

(5) If information is omitted from a record or correspondence that is made publicly available by an assessment committee under subsection (4), a note to that effect must be included in the record or correspondence at the place in the record or correspondence from which the information is omitted.

(6) Despite anything to the contrary in this section, if requested in writing by the Planning Minister, an assessment committee must give a record or correspondence (with any confidential information contained in the record or correspondence) to the Minister.