Thompson v Chief Executive, Department of Natural Resources

The case involves appeals against unimproved valuations made by the Chief Executive of the Department of Natural Resources for certain properties in the Shire of Paroo. The appeals were heard by the Land Court in Brisbane. The court was required to decide whether the valuations were correct and, if not, to determine the correct unimproved value of the properties. The key legal issue was the relevance and correct analysis of the sales evidence used by the Chief Executive to support the valuations. The court had to assess the sales evidence provided by the appellants and the respondent, and determine which evidence should be preferred.

The court considered the sales evidence presented by both parties and the analyses provided by the respective valuers. The court found that the sales evidence relied upon by the Chief Executive was not entirely reliable and that some of the sales were overcapitalised or showed economic obsolescence. The court also found that the Chief Executive's valuer had not properly identified the added value of various improvements. The court determined that the analyses provided by the appellants' valuer were more reliable and should be preferred. The court reduced the valuations applied by the Chief Executive by 5% for the Warrego Flood Plain Sub Market Area and made individual determinations for each property based on the preferred analyses. The court set aside the Chief Executive's valuations and determined the unimproved values for each property.