Multimillion-dollar Wagners and council dispute decided

THE Court of Appeal has delivered a mixed bag for Wagners and TRC in a long-running legal dispute over tens of millions of dollars of charges.

Paul Antonio and Denis Wagner.

THE Court of Appeal has delivered a mixed bag for Wagners and Toowoomba Regional Council in a long-running legal dispute over tens of millions of dollars of infrastructure charges.

The saga, which has dragged on for more than three years, reached a key juncture today with Court of Appeal Justices Debra Mullins, Philip Morrison and Hugh Fraser publishing their decision on an appeal hearing which took place in November 2019.

Two Wagner companies, Wagner Investments Pty Ltd and Marcoola Investments Pty Ltd, were largely successful in a complex legal dispute with Toowoomba Regional Council in May 2019 over levied infrastructure charges at Wellcamp Airport and Wellcamp Business Park.

A month later, Toowoomba Regional Council decided it would appeal the decision.

At the time, TRC CEO Brian Pidgeon said the council had already spent $1.15 million on the legal case, and would appeal it with "the best interests of the whole community front of mind".

The May 2019 decision by the Planning and Environment Court saw Wagners cleared of having to pay more than $20 million in stormwater infrastructure across the whole Wellcamp development, when, as Wagner Corporation Denis Wagner put it at the time, "the stormwater does not flow through even one council pipe".

Parts of Wagners' appeals against traffic trunk infrastructure charges were dismissed by the Planning and Environment Court, while other traffic trunk infrastructure charges were sent back to TRC "for further consideration and assessment".

In today's orders, the Court of Appeal upheld the Planning and Environment's Court decision clearing Wagners of having to pay millions in stormwater charges.

But in a win for TRC, the court ruled that Wagners' original, successful appeals against the traffic trunk infrastructure charges were dismissed.

"In view of the parties' mixed success on the appeal to this court, there should be an opportunity for the parties to make written submissions on the appropriate costs orders," the court orders said.

Wagners and Toowoomba Regional Council have 14 days to make submissions to the court on costs.

Wagners was contacted for comment.

Toowoomba Regional Council CEO Brian Pidgeon said the council was reviewing the judgement and would respond following a thorough review of the decision. 

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