Monthly Archives: June 2011

Magistrate refuses Bubblewrap Bandit bail based on cost of living forecast

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The Gold Coast’s Bubblewrap Bandit should have thought a bit more about his defence before he blamed the state of the economy at his bail hearing, as reported in the Courier-Mail earlier today: “The defendant stated he committed the offence … Continue reading →

Posted in Gold Coast | Leave a comment

No mass relocation of public servants to NQ

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Gene Tunny

North Queensland community and business leaders were disappointed yesterday when the Treasurer Andrew Fraser and Deputy Premier Paul Lucas both shattered expectations of a mass migration of public servants to the region: Push to relocate services stymied Queensland State Government … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, North Queensland, Queensland Government, Townsville | Leave a comment

Are you working too hard? Are you sure?

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The ABS’s annual Australian Social Trends report released today contains an interesting article on overemployment, which notes: Between April and July 2007, the ABS surveyed Australian workers aged 15 years and older about their employment arrangements. At that time, around … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | 1 Comment

Meatworks shut down is bad news for Toowoomba

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Toowoomba has just over 50,000 employed persons, so the potential loss of over 1,000 jobs through the indefinite closure of the Beef City meatworks is really bad news. If 1,000 people end up unemployed in the short-term, that will drive … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Migration, Toowoomba | Leave a comment

Australia ties with NZ for second in digital literacy in OECD – Korea on top

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Gene Tunny

From the OECD today: 28/06/2011 – Korea tops a new OECD PISA survey that tests how 15-year olds use computers and the Internet to learn. The next best performers were New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Hong-Kong China and Iceland. PISA 2009 … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Leave a comment

Swan rightly dismisses GFC II talk

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Deputy PM/Treasurer Wayne Swan was in fine form today when he cut off Sky News’s Kieran Gilbert’s talk about a second global financial crisis (GFC): I don’t like that sort of talk about a second GFC. Yes, there are challenges … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Leave a comment

Cairns pushing for expanded naval base

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Gene Tunny

With the Cairns economy sluggish at the moment due to a slowdown in tourism and the construction sector, Cairns community leaders are lobbying hard for an expansion of the HMAS Cairns naval base, as reported in yesterday’s Cairns Post. An expansion … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Tourism, Townsville | Leave a comment

Qld Government provides $850 million of industry assistance ($190 per capita)

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Gene Tunny

One of the easiest jobs I ever had in the Commonwealth Treasury was working in the Industry Policy Unit,  partly because the Productivity Commission had already compiled the hit list of wasteful corporate welfare programs in its annual Trade and … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Leave a comment

Is Screen Queensland assisting Deception and Bad Karma?

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Government provides over $13 million of assistance per annum to the film industry through Screen Queensland. Following a report in the Gold Coast Bulletin this morning with the headline Two new feature films to be shot on the Coast, … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Leave a comment

Queensland still struggling to attract interstate migrants

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Here’s a chart based on yesterday’s ABS demographic data release: Meanwhile, Fraser Coast residents aren’t waiting for the people to come. They’re busy creating their own people (Fraser Coast baby boom): The number of babies born in the region has … Continue reading →

Posted in Population | Leave a comment