Monthly Archives: September 2010

Bush B&Bs neglected by new shiny tourism campaign

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Gene Tunny

Today’s Sunshine Coast Daily reports: A SOUTHERN Downs tourism operator has slammed the latest Tourism Queensland advertising campaign as “beach-centric” and accuses the organisation of selling out the bush. Stanthorpe accommodation provider Phil Moye said he was “completely frustrated” with … Continue reading →

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Upcoming events on a Qld upper house and climate change

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Gene Tunny

At the Brisbane Polo Club next Tuesday evening (5 October), the Brisbane Institute will host a forum on whether the Queensland Parliament should re-establish an upper house – i.e., the Legislative Council which was abolished in 1921 by a suicide … Continue reading →

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Wine making not an industry for a Smart State

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Gene Tunny

Queensland’s 185 wine makers must have noted with some concern Brown Brothers’ investment in Tasmania last month (Climate drives big wine deal): VICTORIAN winemaker Brown Brothers has outlined critical environmental reasons behind its $32.56 million purchase of Gunns’ wine assets … Continue reading →

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Australia has 4th highest obesity rate in OECD

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Gene Tunny

With 25% of the adult population obese, Australia ties with the UK as the fourth most obese OECD country.  In first place, of course, is the US (34%), in second place is Mexico (30%) and in third place is New … Continue reading →

Posted in Health | 1 Comment

Outdoor culture makes Coloradans skinny, but not Queenslanders

Posted on September 25, 2010 by Gene Tunny

Obesity is a serious health problem for individuals and a serious cost to public health budgets and the economy through lost workforce participation and productivity  – Access Economics estimated its total cost to the Australian community at nearly $4 billion … Continue reading →

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One in 14 Queensland Indigenous adults part of the Stolen Generation

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Gene Tunny

One out of every 14 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of adult age living in Queensland is a member of the stolen generation, according to a summary booklet of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) … Continue reading →

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Kicking off concession card holders unfair, but we may need to review peak fares

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Gene Tunny

mX (Brisbane’s free afternoon newspaper) today ran with a typical attention grabbing front page headline “Peak fare shock: Kick concession cards, says forum”: Concession card-carrying commuters should be relegated to off-peak services only, a peak transport body says.  A report … Continue reading →

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Is Cairns (not Townsville) now going to be the second capital?

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Gene Tunny

Cairns’s economy is in trouble, with tourism way down and unemployment at 11-12%.  It’s understandable therefore the Government would consider a range of ideas to boost its economy.  The Government’s latest idea, as reported in the Cairns Post, is to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns | 2 Comments

Sunshine Coast Council more pro-development than Gold Coast

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Gene Tunny

The Sunshine Coast Council appears to understand the reality of South East Queensland’s population growth and pressures on the environment, with the Deputy Mayor Tim Dwyer supporting high density living, as reported in the Sunshine Coast Daily: ROADS will be … Continue reading →

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Skill shortages database a good idea

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Gene Tunny

Queensland Government research (Skills for Jobs and Growth 2010) identifies that some skill shortages are genuinely due to a lack of skilled workers (e.g., pilots, farm managers) but others are simply due to employers not paying high enough wages to … Continue reading →

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