Telstra sued the State of Queensland alleging that it had been treated in a discriminatory way by the State of Queensland in the calculation of the rent payable for crown lands it leased for communications purposes. That rental valuation was effected by the Land Act 1994 (Qld) and the Land Regulation 2009 (Qld). Telstra argued that if it could show the calculation of rent for the crown lands it leased was different to the way other leaseholders were treated, then cl 44 of Sch 3 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) meant it was not required to comply with the State instruments which set its rents. It further argued that those parts of the State instruments which set its rents were made without jurisdiction and invalid by the operation of s 109 of the Commonwealth Constitution. The State of Queensland argued that the rent payable on Telstra’s crown leases was generally a rental that approximated the market value of those leases, and that there can be no discrimination where a market rental is charged.
The judgment can be read by clicking here
