A GOVERNMENT document has revealed the Victorian government invited the Arthurs Seat Eagle to propose changes to the draft planning permit conditions for its rollercoaster-style luge before final approval was granted.
The disclosure is contained in a Statement of Reasons prepared by the Planning Minister’s delegate following a request from the community group Save Our Seat and the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA).
This comes after months of community backlash and opposition towards the project, which was approved in February and is set to begin construction this year (Eagle greenlit as opponents vow to fight, The News 20/02/26).
The statement outlines the planning assessment and decision-making process behind the approval of the development and confirms the project’s proponent was given draft permit conditions to consider before they were finalised.
“As part of the assessment process, and prior to finalising the permit conditions, I consulted with the proponent about the proposed permit conditions, including providing the proponent with draft permit conditions for its consideration,” the delegate said in the statement.
“The proponent provided its views and proposed changes to the conditions, and I considered those proposed changes and determined whether I supported them.”
Save Our Seat spokesperson Tony Robertson said the disclosure raised questions about the transparency of the planning process.
“Permit conditions being decided behind closed doors about our state park, with the Planning Minister’s office inviting changes from the developer before they were finalised, is the antithesis of transparent and accountable decision making,” said Robertson.
Save Our Seat and VNPA are now calling on Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny to release details of changes sought by the Arthurs Seat Eagle and to explain which, if any, changes were incorporated into the final permit.
Robertson said the community deserves an explanation and complete transparency about how the final permit conditions were settled.
“We’re not suggesting developers should never be consulted during the planning process,” said Robertson.
“But the public has a right to know whether the changes to permit conditions can be defended on their merits and were not made just because the Arthurs Seat Eagle didn’t like them.”
Robertson said the project was assessed under the state government’s Development Facilitation Program, under which the Planning Minister was the decision maker. The community therefore had no right to appeal the decision to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
“The Minister also rejected a request for an independent advisory committee, which would have enabled public hearings and testing of the developer’s technical evidence, as well as a request for an independent peer review of the landslide risk assessment,” said Robertson.
VPNA Parks Protection and Nature Campaigner Jordan Crook also criticised the lack of transparency.
“The fast tracking of the process to build a rollercoaster-style luge on public land, in a state park with no chance for the public to appeal is not how our parks should be managed,” said Crook.
“Our parks should be there for everyone to enjoy, not handed over to developers to make a quick buck.”
Robertson said Arthurs Seat Eagle has refused to release economic impact studies despite previously indicating at a public meeting that it would do so.
Roberston said the company also declined to release questions used in a community survey, despite relying on the survey to claim strong support for further development at Arthurs Seat.
“It’s no surprise that the community feels like everything has been stacked against them and that their concerns have been ignored,” said Robertson.
First published in the Mornington News – 18 August 2026
