Environmental Law

Introduction

In the recent Land Court decision of Hail Creek Coal Holding Pty Limited & Ors (Hail Creek) v Michelmore (Mr Michelmore) (No 2)¹ (Hail Creek (No 2)), the Land Court ordered Mr Michelmore to pay Hail Creek its costs (as agreed or assessed on the standard basis):

1. of the proceedings;
    
2. of and incidental to: 

1. the hearing on 4 December 2020;
2. the hearing on 11 December 2020; and
3. the application brought 1 March 2021; and

3. thrown away by the adjournment of the hearing on 14 December 2020. 

This recent judgment delivered by the Land Court provides useful guidance in understanding what factors the Land Court will consider when exercising its discretion to order costs under s 281(7) of the Mineral Resources Act 1989 (Qld) (MRA) and s 27A(1) of the Land Court Act 2000 (Qld) (LCA) in certain compensation proceedings. 

Background 

The Facts 

In Hail Creek Coal Holding Pty Limited & Ors v Michelmore,² the case concerned the amount of compensation payable by Hail Creek to Mr Michelmore in relation to the grant of a mining lease for 138 ha of land (ML), which was to be utilised to accommodate workers at the Hail Creek Mine. The parties had attempted to negotiate a settlement before the proceedings came to Court on the following occasions: 

1. Mr Michelmore originally sought compensation in excess of $14,850,000;
    
2. on 1 December 2020, Hail Creek offered to settle for $2,200,000 with each party bearing its own costs (the Calderbank offer); and
    
3. Mr Michelmore made a counter-offer of $8,140,000.00.

At the hearing, Member Stilgoe OAM acknowledged that 'there is only one issue – what is the value to be given to the surface of the land?'.³ The Land Court ultimately ordered Hail Creek to pay Mr Michelmore compensation in the sum of $530,530, inclusive of the statutory 10% uplift fee to account for the compulsory nature of the acquisition, within 14 days of the grant of the mining lease. 

In Hail Creek (No 2), the Land Court had to consider which party was to pay the other party’s costs in respect of the proceedings. 

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1 [2021] QLC 23.
2 [2021] QLC 19.
3 Ibid [4].