Monthly Archives: July 2012

Las Vegas a poor example for Gold Coast to follow

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports this morning that Las Vegas may become Coast’s sister city: MAYOR Tom Tate will today officially ask Las Vegas to become a sister city of the Gold Coast and says our region’s tourist strip can … Continue reading →

Posted in Gold Coast, Labour market, Tourism | 3 Comments

Better outlook for building industry in struggling regions

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Gene Tunny

New ABS small area data released yesterday appear to confirm last week’s reported rebound in building approvals is widespread across the Queensland regions, and has even shown up in the struggling regions of the Gold Coast and Far North. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Gold Coast, Housing | Leave a comment

Should we worry about food security?

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The push for greater local food production in urban and peri-urban areas makes no economic sense in a country where there is abundant farm land, and hence I was pleased to learn about the views of a University of Queensland … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture | 2 Comments

Bunnings a big beneficiary of retail revival

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Delving into the retail trade data released yesterday by the ABS, it appears Queenslanders are DIY renovating and gardening more, brunching and dining out more, stocking up on shoes and boots, and buying much cheaper furniture, most likely due to … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade | Leave a comment

Great analysis of rebound in building approvals from HIA

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The strong rebound in building approvals across mainland Australia in May was welcome news today, although as noted by my former Treasury colleague Andrew Harvey, now Senior Economist at the Housing Industry Association, there are reasons for the rebound that … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Macroeconomy | 1 Comment

Far too early to call end of resources boom

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The slowdown in the Chinese economy has some market players worried about the outlook for the Australian resources sector, as reported by AAP (Mining boom over says, analyst). These concerns seem unwarranted, as any slowdown will be temporary, and there … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Mining | Leave a comment

Is Townsville or Cairns the capital of North Qld?

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Gene Tunny

There is an amusing debate occurring in North Queensland between Cairns economist Bill Cummings and Townsville economist Colin Dwyer over whether Cairns or Townsville has the larger population, as reported in the Townsville Bulletin on Friday. While there are more … Continue reading →

Posted in North Queensland, Population, Uncategorized | 4 Comments