Symes v Chief Executive, Department of Lands

[1995] QLC 35

[1995] QLC 35

 

  LAND COURT

BRISBANE

26 May 1995

Re:     Appeal against a rental valuation -
  Dalrymple Shire Council.
  RV94-380.

William V Symes and Others
  v.
  Chief Executive, Department of Lands

D E C I S I O N

(Hearing at Charters Towers)

This is an appeal against the rental valuation of $220,000 applied by the Chief Executive, Department of Lands, to Merricourt Pastoral Holding (PH11/3301) as at 30 June 1993.  Merricourt has an area of 12,690 hectares and is situated 58 kms south of Charters Towers on the bitumen sealed Clermont Road.
           The lessees are of the opinion an appropriate value is $110,000.  The opinion that the leased land as unimproved land should be worth half the value applied by the Chief Executive, is based on reasoning that with some years of drought coupled with an increase in the spread of woody weeds including Harrisia Cactus, White-wood, berry bush and chinee-apple, the holding if sold unimproved at the relevant date would not be expected to fetch a value in the marketplace comparable with what it would have fetched had these problems not eventuated.  Mr WV Symes who appeared on behalf of the appellants said that under current seasonal conditions the lessees cannot afford to address the eradication of woody weeds.  At present the holding is running about 700 head and it is intended to hold numbers until seasonal conditions change and the country recovers.  In a normal season, around 1200 to 1500 head can be carried.  He agreed that woody weeds were common in the Dalrymple Shire and that the lack of good underground water on Merricourt was a feature of the general locality of Merricourt.    The holding is described by Mr MJ Campbell, registered valuer in the employ of the Department of Lands and who wrote the valuation on behalf of the Chief Executive, as comprising -

2000 hectares of brigalow scrub country which has been pulled but not seeded and is subject to regrowth and blackcurrant bush infestation;

4000 hectares of flooded frontage country along Policeman and Little Policeman Creeks; and

6690 hectares of mixed forest country.

Mr Symes accepted the description, qualifying it only with the thought that the area of scrub country could be less.  He accepted that the property was suitable for breeding, growing and fattening beef cattle.  Mr Campbell said that historically Merricourt has been valued as possessing a carrying capacity of 1 beast to 9 hectares for rental purposes and 1 beast to 11 hectares for rating purposes.  For the purposes of the current valuation he is of the opinion that a carrying capacity of 1 beast to 10.5 hectares or about 1200 head of dry cattle would be reasonable in normal seasons.  He said that the valuation which issued in the sum of $250,000 and was reduced on objection to $220,000 was reduced after considering the woody weed problems - mainly because of the infestation of blackcurrant.  He was aware of the inherent underground water problem and he is of the opinion that drought has had its effect throughout the whole of the shire.  His valuation is based on sales with direct comparisons being made with sales of Mt Ravenswood at $20/hectare - 1 beast to 12 hectares and Pallamana, $9.30/hectare - 1 beast to 16 hectares.  (The latter holding is one block removed to the east of Merricourt and between Merricourt and Mt Ravenswood in a direct line).  Pallamana has an area of 28,500 hectares with about 23,500 hectares of forest country with patches of scrub and the balance being lancewood and bendee ridges.  The holding has an operating gold mine within the boundary covering an area in excess of 2700 hectares and has similar water and weed problems to the subject land.  Mt Ravenswood is a superior property.  This property sold in 1992 while Pallamana sold in late 1990. 
           Under the legislation governing the determination of unimproved value for rental purposes, the issue is one of ascertaining what sum the land would sell for at the relevant date assuming that the holding was unimproved and was sold on such reasonable terms and conditions as a bona fide seller would require.  In these circumstances, answers to questions whether the incidence of woody weeds and drought have on the saleable value of the land unimproved can only be found in the marketplace.  This in fact has been the case with previous legislation governing the effect of drought and, as a logical extension thereof, woody weeds.  The Court held as early as 1926 that it was not a drought relief tribunal as such and that such effects can only be considered or measured by what is paid for comparable land with comparable problems.  (Re: Wakefield Aggregation (1926) 11 CLLR 93).  In the interpretation of the market through sales of land spread over the shire, the whole of which has been drought affected, Mr Campbell in the subject case has conceded through the objection conference that the effect of woody weeds - primarily the blackcurrant bush infestation - would diminish value.  No evidence could be found to say that drought or other problems affecting the subject land were not reflected in the sale market.  On the evidence, I find no reasons to depart from the valuation finally applied by the Chief Executive.
           Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed and the determination of the Chief Executive is affirmed.

(DM White)          
  President of the Land Court