These proceedings concerned the valuation of land owned by Eumundi Group Hotels. The land being used for a bottle shop and tavern had been valued by the Valuer-General for rating and taxing purposes. The value of the land, determined by the Valuer-General to be AUD 3,800,000, was disputed by Eumundi Group. On the Valuer-General’s affirmation of this amount, the Eumundi Group appealed to the Land Court contending that the land was worth AUD 3,000,000. The Land Court determined that the land had a value of AUD 4,500,000 (the Valuer-General’s revised appraisal). The Eumundi Group appealed that decision on the bases that: the Member should not have rejected the evidence that was put forth for their valuation, the Member should have rejected the evidence put forth for the Valuer-General’s valuation, and the Valuer-General’s valuation was accepted without proper consideration of the evidence.
On appeal, Boddice J, Kingham P and Stilgoe M determined that the correct value of the land was AUD 3,515,000. This figure was based on the Eumundi Group’s assessment of a value of AUD 470/m2, with deductions to account for the land encumbered by easements and the cost of work on the site.
Roger Traves QC and Salwa Marsh appeared for the appellant, instructed by Colin Biggers & Paisley.
Rob Anderson QC (with J Hastie) appeared for the respondent, instructed by In-house Litigation Unit, Department of Resources.
The judgment is published here.
