Whackett v Chief Executive, Department of Lands

The Land Court in Brisbane heard appeals from K.W. Whackett and K.W. and M.R. Whackett against the Chief Executive, Department of Lands, regarding the unimproved value of their respective parcels of land. The parcels, containing 54.8 hectares and 51.03 hectares, were located in the parish of Darlington, off Shaw's Pocket Road, Cedar Creek. The Department of Lands had valued the land at $220,000 and $205,000, respectively, while the appellants contended that the valuations were excessive and should have taken into account the disabilities of the land, its topography, and the productivity and general usefulness of the subject land. The appellants estimated the value at $100,000 for each parcel. The primary issue the court needed to decide was whether the subject lands were used for the "purposes of farming" as defined by the Valuation of Land Act 1944.

The court considered the evidence presented by both parties, including the valuation evidence from Mr. F.L. Olsen, a retired valuer, who argued that the land should have been valued based on its use for primary production. The Department's valuation evidence, provided by Mr. I.L. Hawley, a registered valuer, supported the original valuations based on the highest and best use of the land as zoned. The court examined the relevant legislation, including the amended provisions of ss. (9) and (10) of s.11, which set out the criteria for land to qualify for the protection of being exclusively used for farming. The court concluded that the business of grazing beef cattle was the dominant use of the land and met the criteria for being a significant and substantial commercial purpose. Therefore, the lands qualified for the protection provided under s.11(9) of the Act.

After reviewing the evidence and the relevant legislation, the court determined that the valuations provided by the Department of Lands were excessive and set aside the original valuations. The court allowed the appeals and determined the unimproved values of the parcels to be $60,000 for AV93-163 and $56,000 for AV93-164. The court found that the more reliable evidence came from the considerations of Mr. Olsen on a strict relativity basis.