Cowley v Valuer-General

Terrence W Cowley, the appellant, brought an appeal against the Valuer-General, the respondent, concerning the valuation of land in Toogoolawah, Queensland. The land in question, which is used for grazing cattle, was valued at $180,000 by the Valuer-General as of 1 October 2009. The appellant argued that the valuation should have been increased by 5% based on the Consumer Price Index adjustment from the previous valuation of $124,000. The grounds of appeal centred on the difficulty of accessing the land, which the appellant claimed made it impractical to use the legal access point.

The legal issues before the court involved determining the appropriate valuation of the land, considering the access difficulties and the method used to calculate the length of the access road. The court also had to decide whether the appellant had provided sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption of correctness of the Valuer-General’s valuation under the Valuation of Land Act 1944.

The court, represented by Mr WA Isdale, examined the evidence provided by both parties. The appellant, an experienced grazier, argued that the land could not be accessed by vehicles due to a rocky shelf. However, the valuer for the Valuer-General, Mr Colin Clark, used sales comparison to value the land at $1,462 per hectare, resulting in an overall valuation of $180,000. The court accepted Mr Clark’s evidence on the length of the access road and noted that the difficulty in using it was acknowledged and factored into the valuation. The court found that the appellant had not provided sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption of correctness of the valuation and dismissed the appeal, affirming the valuation by the Valuer-General.

The final orders of the court were to dismiss the appeal and affirm the valuation of $180,000.