A COUNCILLOR has failed in efforts to force release of a confidential document that identifies land the council may consider selling.

At the Tweed Shire Council meeting on Tuesday Cr Katie Milne attempted to bring the document out into the public domain but it was not supported in a vote.

"My concern about this is transparency," Cr Milne said.

"I think the issue here is that the community needed to know what we are doing.

"I take it very seriously to protect the community and the community's interest."

Tweed Shire general manager David Keenan said any decisions made to sell council land would go through a consultative process.

"There is a public consultative process if there is cause to sell any council land," Mr Keenan said.

"This (document) is not all about the sale of land."

Councillor Kevin Skinner reiterated that point saying that looking at the council's assets was just good business practice.

"We can then make decisions in regard to those assets," Cr Skinner said.

"The Catholic Church did the same thing in the region and they found they owned 30 parcels of land they didn't know they owned.

"It's always good to have some housekeeping."

Councillor Joan van Lieshout said the land could also be identified at locations for affordable and social housing.