The $12 billion Crown land estate is to be valued by the NSW government to determine its "triple bottom line" worth, prompting fresh concerns from the state opposition about a possible sell-off.
But the lands department denies the move is in preparation for widespread sales, arguing it is developing a new method for better management of the estate.
Consultancy Urbis has been contracted to advise the government on a "methodology and implementation plan" for the valuation of land that may include parks, golf courses, caravan parks and grazing property.
Tender documents show the plan will allow for "regular measurement of the Crown land estate social, environmental and economic values and the measurement of the annual net benefits flowing from Crown land and Crown land management".
It will also "determine the performance measures of the social, environmental and economic outcomes from Crown land to enable [the lands department] to better plan and manage the portfolio for the overall benefit of the NSW community".
The move comes after Parliament last year passed controversial changes to Crown lands legislation.
The changes included handing the responsible minister the power to vest Crown land to a government agency after which it ceased to be Crown land and "any dedication or reservation is revoked".
The government said the changes "will not lead to the wholesale or widespread sale or disposal of Crown land", but Labor warned of a "fire sale".
On Tuesday a spokeswoman for the Department of Industry – Lands & Forestry said it was "developing a new methodology" for Crown land valuation.
"By improving understanding of the triple bottom line values of this land, the department can better plan for and manage the Crown estate for the benefit of the entire NSW community," she said.
"This project is not related to the sale, leasing or disposal of Crown land."
But Labor's Mick Veitch accused the government of "running the rule" over the Crown land estate, citing its sale of $9 billion worth of properties since coming to power.
"My fear is this is the next step to sell off valuable publicly owned land," he said.
"The Liberals might say this is about the triple bottom line but for the Liberals they're interested in one line only: how much money they can make," he said.
But Lands Minister Paul Toole said Labor had "the wrong end of the stick".
"This work will be used to assess the social and environmental benefit of Crown land for the entire community and that's a good thing," he said.
In September last year, Auditor-General Margaret Crawford warned the government's "overall governance of decision making for the sale and lease of Crown land is inadequate".
She said the department had "limited understanding" of whether tenants were complying with lease conditions and staff were not given clear or up-to-date policies for the sale and leasing of Crown land.
