In a company announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange last month, Mariner reported that an exclusive due diligence period had begun on the Killalea property, with one party in particular very keen.

Yesterday, Mr Ireland said the company's asset remained for sale, but "we still 100 per cent own it".

However, what the company can sell remains in question with the Environmental Defender's Office arguing the company's agreement to lease parts of the Killalea State Park is not a proprietary interest, unlike a lease, and cannot be sold.

The controversial 52-year lease agreement between the Killalea State Park Trust and Killalea Coastal Investments, which was initially a joint venture between Mariner Financial and Babcock & Brown, was signed in April 2007.

Meantime, the public may be just weeks away from finally getting its first look at the revised plans for the tourist development within the State Park.

The application was declared a major project by Planning Minister Kristina Keneally back in March, but almost six months later the Director General's requirements for the development are still to be issued and the preliminary assessment is yet to be made public.

A spokesman for the department confirmed the preliminary assessment had been lodged and it was now being viewed by a number of agencies for comment, including Shellharbour City Council, the Southern Rivers Catchment Authority, the Department of Lands and the Department of Environment and Climate Change.