Monthly Archives: December 2011

New driver’s licence rules reduce youth workforce participation

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Gene Tunny

This story in the Courier-Mail yesterday (Mum’s taxi staying in service longer) made me wonder about the impact of driver’s licence changes on youth workforce participation, given that having to rely on public transport or mum or dad will make … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Leave a comment

Eurozone crisis watch

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Today’s Italian bond auction went significantly better than expected, although nervous market watchers still found a reason to worry, as reported on the Guardian’s excellent Eurozone Crisis Live Blog: At first glance, the results are slightly better than feared (the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Macroeconomy | Leave a comment

Not another referendum on local government

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Australians, rightly in my view, have previously rejected constitutional recognition for local government at referendums in 1988 and 1974 (see this Parliamentary Library paper), but unfortunately the issue keeps coming back, as reported by the Australian this morning: AN expert … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Council debt worries Rocky residents

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Today’s Rockhampton Morning-Bulletin features an interesting debate between a local resident and Mayor Brad Carter regarding the sustainability of Rockhampton Regional Council’s $200 million debt, which is among the highest in per capita terms of the 20 largest Councils in … Continue reading →

Posted in Rockhampton | Leave a comment

Strong start to Boxing Day sales

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The need for traffic control on the escalators at David Jones, Queens Plaza in Brisbane was a good sign that the Boxing Day sales would go well for retailers (confirming again my belief that the Queensland economy is strong). Without … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade | Leave a comment

Surge in professional jobs as resources boom continues

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The number of professional jobs increased strongly by 6.2% in Queensland over 2011 according to the latest ABS labour force data, as reported in an information brief from OESR yesterday. The growth in professional jobs accounted for all of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Mining | Leave a comment

Guest worker trial for sugar industry

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Gene Tunny

I was pleased to read the Federal Government has announced a trial guest worker scheme for the sugar industry drawing on temporary migrants from East Timor, Tonga, and PNG, among other countries in the region. The Bundaberg News-Mail reports: LABOUR … Continue reading →

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

Queensland only third fastest growing State or Territory in 2010-11

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Unsurprisingly WA had the fastest growing population in 2010-11, and had a comfortable lead over the ACT in second place (Canberra must be hiring a lot  of new public servants) and Queensland in third place, according to new ABS demographic … Continue reading →

Posted in Population | 2 Comments

Seriously, are Qld taxpayers paying for zombie apocalypse education?

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Gene Tunny

This is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money and the State Library’s budget should be significantly cut and reallocated to a more deserving organisation if it thinks this is good value for money (Be very quiet, we’re dodging zombies): Fighting … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget | 4 Comments

Treasury reports pessimism around Qld residential construction

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Commonwealth Treasury has produced a nice write-up of current economic conditions across the two-speed economy in its latest business liaison report. It contains sobering news for people in the retail sector and Queensland’s residential building industry: Retail sector contacts report … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Macroeconomy, Retail trade | Leave a comment