Monthly Archives: August 2011

Stimulus was always going to be problematic in an open economy

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Gene Tunny

One of the major implications of the 1983 floating of the Australian dollar was that fiscal policy became less powerful than monetary policy. Any fiscal expansion (i.e. stimulus) would put pressure on domestic interest rates, attracting money into Australia (some … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | 2 Comments

Drunk walking increase suggests need for taxi industry reform

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Gene Tunny

This story in today’s Brisbane Times on the staggering rise in drunken accidents reminded me of the US finding in Levitt and Dubner’s SuperFreakonomics that: Doing the math, you find that, on a per-mile basis, a drunk walker is eight … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Transport | Leave a comment

How can Brisbane get into the top 25 liveable cities?

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Monocle’s 2011 list of top 25 liveable cities includes Melbourne at number 5 and Sydney at number 7, but does not include Brisbane. At the very least, if we want a chance of getting on to this list, we need … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Retail trade | 1 Comment

Economic Potential of Senior Australians

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians delivered its first report to Deputy PM-Treasurer Wayne Swan. While I think the Panel is unlikely to yield much of substance – i.e. beyond feel-good recommendations such as governments … Continue reading →

Posted in Population, Transport | Leave a comment

Retail trade has held up better in Qld than in rest of Australia

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Retail turnover has held up better in Queensland than in the rest of Australia (excluding WA) according to this chart in OESR’s latest Queensland Economic Review: Again, while the resources boom is delivering Queensland much good fortune, WA still leads … Continue reading →

Posted in Mining, Retail trade | Leave a comment

Qld agriculture reliant on 457 visas

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Gene Tunny

At the end of July, there were 920 temporary, business-sponsored migrants holding 457 visas working in agriculture in Queensland, compared with 300 in NSW and smaller numbers in other States (see Table 1.22 in this Immigration department report). While over … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Mining | Leave a comment

Buy local policy would be costly in the long-term

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Gene Tunny

With the two-speed (a.k.a. patchwork) economy driven by the resources boom – and associated high exchange rate – Australia was always going to see more job losses in manufacturing, such as the 1,000 jobs lost at BlueScope Steel. The Government … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Mining | Leave a comment

BBC ten iconic travel experiences – how can Qld get on the list?

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Gene Tunny

BBC Travel’s ten iconic travel experiences include surfing in Hawaii, cooking in Hanoi and learning bush survival skills in the wilderness of Kenya, but doesn’t include anything from Queensland. Given our State’s incredible environmental attributes, including the Great Barrier Reef … Continue reading →

Posted in Tourism | Leave a comment

Push for national plastic bag ban

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Banning plastic bags wouldn’t be sensible policy (see my earlier post Should Queensland ban plastic shopping bags?), and the Federal Government appears to realise this, but still environmental groups persist in pushing for a ban. As reported in today’s Sydney … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Retail trade | Leave a comment

Don’t expect Cape York coal mining any time soon

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Cairns-based economics/finance commentator KS has a great post questioning the Cape York coal rush reported in the Australian today. KS notes: Many in the Far North may not be aware that there are coal deposits on Cape York mostly in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Mining, North Queensland | Leave a comment