Valuer-General v New South Wales Golf Club
[2012] NSWCA 355
At a glance
Source factsCourt
Court of Appeal (NSW)
Decision date
2012-10-23
Before
Hoeben JA, Preston CJ, Ward J, Lloyd AJ
Source
Original judgment source is linked above.
Judgment (11 paragraphs)
Judgment 1HOEBEN JA: I agree with Preston CJ of LEC. 2PRESTON CJ of LEC:
Nature of appeal and conclusion The New South Wales Golf Course is located on 58.85 ha of coastal land on the northern headland of Botany Bay. The golf course is ranked second in Australia and 34th in the world. The golf course is on Crown land and is the subject of a lease granted under Pt 4 of the Crown Lands Act 1989 ("CL Act"). The lessor is stated to be the State of New South Wales being the Crown in right of New South Wales. The lessee is the New South Wales Golf Club Company Limited ("the Club"). The lease is for a term of 40 years from 25 July 1996 and expiring 24 July 2036. Under the lease the use is restricted to the private purpose of recreation (golf course). 3As the lessee of Crown land for private purposes, the Club is liable to pay rates under the Local Government Act 1993 and land tax under the Land Tax Management Act 1956. Rates and land tax are based on the land value of the land. The land value is determined under the Valuation of Land Act 1916 ("VL Act"). 4The Valuer-General valued the land, at the base date of 1 July 2009, at $6.01 million. Notice of the valuation was given to the Club as the person who was liable to pay rates and taxes in respect of the land. The Club lodged an objection to the Valuer-General. The Valuer-General disallowed the Club's objection. The Club appealed against the disallowance to the Land and Environment Court of NSW, under s 37 of the VL Act. 5On 19 June 2012, Lloyd AJ of the Land and Environment Court of NSW upheld the Club's appeal and made a determination that the land value of the land was nil in place of the Valuer-General's determination that the land value of the land was $6.01 million: New South Wales Golf Club v Valuer-General New South Wales [2012] NSWLEC 137. On 10 August 2012, Lloyd AJ dismissed the Club's notice of motion for costs (so that each party paid their own costs) and ordered the Club to pay the Valuer-General's costs of the motion: New South Wales Golf Club v Valuer General New South Wales (No 2) [2012] NSWLEC 186. 6The Valuer-General appealed to this Court against the decision of Lloyd AJ under s 57(1) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979. The appeal is on a question of law only. 7The Valuer-General contended that the primary judge erred on two questions of law. First, the Valuer-General contended that the primary judge erred in his construction of s 14I of the VL Act and in particular the words "the restrictions on the disposition or manner of use that apply to the land by reason of its being the subject of the lease concerned", and in holding that cl 90 of the lease was "a restriction on the disposition" within the meaning of s 14I of the Act. 8Secondly, and in the alternative, if cl 90 of the lease was a restriction on disposition within s 14I of the VL Act, the Valuer-General contended that the primary judge erred in holding that the Club had discharged its onus under s 40(2) of the VL Act to establish the Club's appeal against the valuation of the Valuer-General in circumstances in which there was no evidence or probative evidence of the risk of the Minister exercising the power under s 136 of the CL Act and cl 90 of the lease to withdraw any land from the lease, which would cause the land value to be nil. 9The second ground of appeal was only pressed if the first ground of appeal was unsuccessful. 10The Valuer-General submitted that if either ground of appeal succeeded, this Court should remit the matter to the Land and Environment Court for determination in accordance with this Court's decision. 11I find that the primary judge did err on a question of law in his construction of s 14I of the VL Act and in holding that cl 90 of the lease was a restriction on disposition that applied to the land by reason of its being the subject of the lease concerned, within the meaning of s 14I of the VL Act. In these circumstances, the second ground of appeal need not be addressed. Accordingly, the Valuer-General's appeal should be upheld and the matter remitted to the Land and Environment Court. 12The Club filed a cross appeal in relation to the primary judge's decision on 10 August 2012 as to costs, but later withdrew this cross appeal. There is, therefore, no pending appeal in relation to the primary judge's decision as to costs that requires determination by this Court.