Lansdowne Pastoral Company Pty Ltd v Department of Natural Resources and Water

The Lansdowne Pastoral Company Pty Ltd appealed against the unimproved value of a Term Lease over Reserve 3 for rental purposes, as applied by the Chief Executive, Department of Natural Resources and Water. The appeal was dismissed by the Land Court of Queensland, General Division, and the valuation of $20,000 was confirmed. The Lansdowne Pastoral Company Pty Ltd, the appellant, claimed that the unimproved value of the Term Lease over Reserve 3 should be $15,500, not $20,000 as determined by the respondent. The issue before the court was whether the valuation of $20,000 for the Term Lease over Reserve 3 for rental purposes, as applied by the Chief Executive, Department of Natural Resources and Water, was correct. The court found that there was no evidence of any sales of small areas of any type of country in this locality and that Mr Haydon was correct in valuing the parcel as no more than an adjunct to “Lower Lansdowne”. The court concluded that the valuation of $85/ha applied by Mr Haydon did not seem unreasonable, and there was no reason to disturb his valuation of $20,000. The appeal was dismissed, and the valuation of the “Lansdowne” Term Lease over Reserve 3 for rental purposes as at 1 October 2005 was confirmed at Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000).