Kiriwina Investment Company Pty Ltd v Green Lees Developments Pty Limited

The case between Kiriwina Investment Company Pty Ltd, the mortgagee, and Green Lees Developments Pty Limited, the mortgagor, was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute centred on the mortgagee's attempt to recover a debt secured by a farm mortgage, with the mortgagor asserting that the proceedings were invalid under the Farm Debt Mediation Act 1994 (NSW). The central legal issues involved whether the proceedings contravened section 8 of the Act and were therefore void under section 6, and whether the mortgagor was a farmer engaged in a farming operation. Specifically, the court had to determine if the breeding of snakes and rodents constituted a farming operation and if the mortgagor was primarily engaged in farming or property development.

The court examined whether the mortgagor was a farmer and if the mortgage was a farm debt, particularly given that the secured property had already been sold. It was established that for the Farm Debt Mediation Act to apply, the mortgagor must be a farmer and the debt must be a farm debt. The court found that the breeding of snakes and rodents did not qualify as a farming operation. Further, it was concluded that the mortgagor was not primarily engaged in farming but rather in property development. Consequently, the court held that the mortgage was not a farm debt and the mediation provisions of the Farm Debt Mediation Act did not apply. The court also clarified that the notices under section 57(2)(b) of the Real Property Act 1900 (NSW) were not inextricably interlinked with the commencement of proceedings to constitute a single enforcement action. This meant that the date of the enforcement action was correctly identified as the date of the originating application.

The court dismissed the mortgagor's defences and ordered that the mortgagee's proceedings were valid. The final orders included that the mortgagor pay the mortgagee's costs of the proceedings.