Wambo Coal Pty Limited v Mine Subsidence Board

Legislative provisions 8 The MSC Act makes provisions in certain circumstances for payment of compensation to owners of property which has been damaged by subsidence. Section 12 provides for claims for damage arising out of subsidence and s 12A provides for claims for damage arising out of actions to prevent or mitigate damage. Section 12A relevantly states: 12A Claims arising out of actions to prevent or mitigate damage: (1) Subject to this section, claims may be made under this Act for payment from the Fund of: (a) compensation for damage incurred as a result of the exercise by the Board of its powers under section 13A, and (b) an amount to meet the proper and necessary expense incurred or proposed by or on behalf of the owner of improvements or household or other effects in preventing or mitigating damage to those improvements or household or other effects that, in the opinion of the Board, the owner could reasonably have anticipated would otherwise have arisen, or could reasonably anticipate would otherwise arise, from a subsidence that has taken place, other than a subsidence due to operations carried on by the owner. … 9 Section 13A is in the following terms: 13A Works for prevention or mitigation of damage from subsidence The Board may carry out, or cause to be carried out such works as, in its opinion, would reduce the total prospective liability of the Fund by preventing or mitigating damage that the Board anticipates would, but for those works, be incurred by reason of subsidence, whether or not the damage anticipated is damage to improvements or household or other effects on the land on which the works are to be carried out.

10 Section 12B allows an appeal against the Board's decision and is in the following terms: 12B Appeals A person claiming compensation under section 12 or 12A may appeal to the Land and Environment Court against the decision of the Board: (a) as to whether damage has arisen from subsidence or could reasonably have been anticipated, or

Competing submissions 11 Mr M J Leeming, appearing for the applicant, submits that on its proper construction s 12A(1)(b) of the Act permits a claim to be made for expenditure incurred for preventive or mitigatory works in anticipation of subsidence, which, in fact, subsequently occurs. Conversely, s 12A(1)(a) applies where subsidence has caused damage. These sections ought to be read together - s 12(1)(b) must apply to a category of expenses not caught by the words of s 12(1)(a). Moreover, s 10(3)(a) of the MSC Act expressly refers to all amounts payable in respect of damage caused by subsidence "or payable under section 12A". Mr Leeming submits there would be no reason to include the words "or payable under section 12A" if the expenses incurred by owners in anticipation of subsidence were excluded. This indicated that s 12A allows compensation to be claimed for work conducted where no subsidence or damage has yet occurred, but where subsidence is reasonably anticipated and subsequently has taken place. 12 Mr P J McEwen SC, appearing for the respondent, contends that compensation under s 12(1)(b) is only available to a claimant where expense has been incurred from a subsidence that has taken place. Mr McEwen says that the words of the section are plain and do not admit ambiguity. If the words are plain and there is no doubt about the Parliament's intention, the literal approach prevails over the purposive approach: Kingston v Keprose (1987) 11 NSWLR 404 at 421 per McHugh JA. Mr McEwen further submits that, because the definition of "subsidence" in the Act is confined to actual subsidence, not prospective or anticipated subsidence, there is no entitlement to claim compensation for expenses incurred to mitigate or prevent damage where subsidence is anticipated. Such a circumstance could have been included in s 12A(1)(b) by adding after the words "from a subsidence that has taken place" the words "or reasonably anticipated to take place". 13 Mr McEwen argues that there is a clear distinction between the Board's unfettered capacity to cause preventative or mitigating works under s 13A of the MSC Act and owners claiming compensation for preventative works - the primary legislative intent was to allow the Board opportunity to expend money prior to subsidence occurring and damage occurring, but that opportunity was not to be allowed to owners. Instead, it is always open to owners to make an application to the Board to carry out preventative works under s 13A. Thereby the Board retains control of moneys expended in anticipation of subsidence damage from anticipated subsidence, which otherwise it would not have control over.

Conclusion 14 There appears to be no direct authority on the question before me. It is common ground that the meaning of the critical words "from a subsidence that has taken place" in s 12A(1)(b) should be given work to do. It is common ground that there must have been actually been subsidence before any compensation is payable. I am inclined to agree, however, for reasons which follow that that section extends to compensation for expenditure incurred prior to anticipated subsidence and which subsidence has in fact subsequently occurred. 15 Section 33 of the Interpretation Act 1987 calls for a construction of a statutory provision that would promote the purpose or object underlying the Act, whether or not that purpose or object is expressly stated in the Act, in preference to a construction that would not promote that purpose or object. Moreover, s 34 of the Interpretation Act permits recourse to extrinsic material in the interpretation of a provision of an Act if the provision is ambiguous or obscure (inter alia). The meaning of sub-s 12A(1)(b) is both ambiguous and obscure since the provision refers to expense incurred in preventing or mitigating damage which could be reasonably anticipated from a subsidence that "has taken place", by which time the damage would have occurred. The material that may be considered includes the speech made to a House of Parliament by a Minister on the occasion of the moving by that Minister of a motion that the Bill for the Act be read a second time in that House: s 34(2)(f). 16 The construction to which I am attracted is supported by the Minister's second reading speech supporting the Bill which introduced sub-s 12A(1)(b) into the MSC Act on 2 October 1969: As the Act stands at present the board can carry out works only after damage to improvements by subsidence has arisen. This power to repair is to be supplemented by power to carry out preventative works, as the costs of prevention are often cheaper than of cure.

It is recognised also that emergencies may occur when it might be necessary for the owner to carry out works to prevent or mitigate damage arising from a subsidence. In such cases proposed new section 12(a)(1)(b) will empower a claim to be made for the proper and necessary expense so incurred.

(See Hansard, 2 October 1969, p 1551) 17 The modern approach to statutory interpretation is literal but not literalistic. In Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) 194 CLR 355, McHugh, Gummow, Kirby and Hayne JJ said at 384 [78]: … the duty of a court is to give the words of a statutory provision the meaning that the legislature is taken to have intended them to have. Ordinarily, that meaning (the legal meaning) will correspond with the grammatical meaning of the provision. But not always. The context of the words, the consequences of a literal or grammatical construction, the purpose of the statute or the canons of construction may require the words of a legislative provision to be read in a way that does not correspond with the literal or grammatical meaning. 18 The legislative purpose is clearly stated in the Minister's second reading speech. Unquestionably, sub-s 12A(1)(b) was intended to expand the scope of claims. The subsection is thus intended to operate in the following way: the owner of improvements may incur any necessary and proper expense in preventing or mitigating damage to those improvements which the owner could reasonably have anticipated would otherwise have arisen, but the claim may not be made until the subsidence has taken place. 19 Having regard to the very mischief that the provision was intended to address, the position can be re-stated in the following way. The following four elements must exist in order to make a claim for compensation.

(ii) the expense must have been directed to preventing or mitigating damage which is reasonably anticipated;

(iii) there must have been subsidence at the time of making the claim;

(iv) there has to be a connection between the subsidence and the expense.

To hold otherwise would defeat the purpose of the provision as explained by the Minister. 20 Moreover, it would be an absurd consequence if a cheaper expense in preventing or mitigating works avoids a large expense in repairing the damage after the damage has occurred. If the consequence of a reading of a statutory provision leads to an absurd result, then that is another reason to have recourse to the purpose or object underlying the provision, including consideration of the Minister's second reading speech. 21 I answer the question which has been set down for separate determination as follows: Whether for a proprietor to have an entitlement under section 12A(1)(b) of the Mine Subsidence Act 1961 (NSW) to claim compensation for expense incurred in preventing or mitigating reasonably anticipated damage to improvements:

(a) it was necessary for a subsidence to have occurred prior to the expenditure being incurred; or alternatively

(b) that the expense could be incurred prior to any subsidence occurring.

(b) Yes I hereby certify that the preceding 21 paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment herein of the Honourable Mr Justice D H Lloyd.

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