Monthly Archives: June 2010

With its exquisite food and sweeping panoramic views of the Brisbane River, Matt Moran’s ARIA restaurant at Eagle St Pier is undoubtedly superb, but some diners must be shocked at paying $7.50 for a coffee after the meal.  Is ARIA simply gouging … Continue reading →

According to our Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, the Go Between Bridge promises to shave 7-10 minutes off a peak-hour trip between Brisbane’s sporting centre of Milton and its cultural centre in South Brisbane & West End.  In December last year, … Continue reading →

The big news story in Brisbane today is that Rivercity Motorway is dropping the Clem7 toll from the already discounted price of $2.95 to $2: Toll for Clem7 tunnel to drop to $2 Rivercity Motorway was hoping to charge $4.28 … Continue reading →

Queensland’s population increased by around 107,000 people in 2009, according to new ABS population data released last Thursday (this Queensland Treasury briefing note contains the relevant figures).  At the end of 2009, our population  stood at just over 4.47 million, or … Continue reading →

There is an interesting letter from John Penhallurick in the June 19 Economist arguing the Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT) is unconstitutional: Constitutional powers over minerals and mining lie with the states, which have levied royalties on mining companies for … Continue reading →

There was some reasonably good news in today’s interstate trade figures for Queensland released by the ABS.  Through the year to March 2010, there was a 17% increase in Queensland’s exports to other States, while imports remained roughly constant.  (Note I … Continue reading →

There is a useful volume on SEQ planning issues out at the moment, A Climate for Growth, edited by Brendan Gleeson and Wendy Steele of Griffith University, and published by University of Queensland (UQ) Press. The volume includes two standout essays … Continue reading →

With around 350 other cities across the world, Brisbane is today holding the Fête de la Musique, which brings music to multiple locations on the city streets.  City workers walking through Eagle Lane (linking Eagle and Queen Streets) were pleasantly … Continue reading →

Every Sunday morning, when I jog past Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, I notice a sign proclaiming that scalping (or on-selling) of tickets is prohibited.  In the future, there may be changes to laws around scalping across Australia, in response to … Continue reading →

Following the news that Premier Bligh has appointed the Australian Industry Group’s Chris Rodwell as the new Trade Commissioner to the Americas (Peter Beattie’s previous LA-based gig), today’s Courier-Mail ran a thought-provoking editorial, “State must come first in envoy posts”. … Continue reading →