Monthly Archives: October 2013

Speech to UQ Economics School Scholarships and Awards night

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I was honoured to address the University of Queensland School of Economics’s Scholarships and Awards Night tonight. Below are my prepared remarks. I varied them slightly in the delivery, and cut a couple of paragraphs, but this is more or … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Qld Treasurer rightly rejects pessimism about mining industry

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I’m pleased to see Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls has rejected the doom and gloom around the state of the mining industry in Queensland, as reported in the Brisbane Times this morning (Qld mining industry still strong), pointing to strong growth … Continue reading →

Posted in Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Why have a debt ceiling?

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I have no problem with the Federal Government pushing to raise the debt ceiling to $500 billion (i.e. around one-third of the level of our GDP of $1.5 trillion), which on current projections is likely to be several tens of … Continue reading →

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Grattan joins fight against stamp duty

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Leading Australian think tank the Grattan Institute has joined the fight against stamp duty on property transactions (see Renovating housing policy and Jessica Irvine’s article). Grattan notes (on p.32): Stamp duty and pension asset tests create large disincentives to households … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Labour market, Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Qld Government should maximise revenue from casinos

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Gene Tunny

It’s great news the Queensland Government is intending to increase the number of casino licences (see this ABC News report), given the boost this could give to tourism and the Queensland budget. I’ve previously commented that there is: Scope to … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Macroeconomy, Tax, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Qld unemployment rate stable at 6 per cent

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The September 2013 labour force data are out, and they show the Queensland unemployment rate is stable at around 6 per cent (see chart below). While high relative to the pre-financial crisis period when unemployment fell below 4 per cent, … Continue reading →

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Economic impact of mining can be over-stated, according to PC

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The Productivity Commission released a very interesting research note earlier this month titled On input-output tables: Uses and abuses. Input-output tables are the matrices that show how all the industries of the economy are connected to each other – e.g. … Continue reading →

Posted in Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Qld Treasury Corporation sees improving economic outlook

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The latest Weekly Market and Economics Review for 8 October from Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) nicely summarises recent data showing an improving economic outlook across Australia: Last week’s dataflow was generally better than expected and consistent with the recent more … Continue reading →

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Qld’s economic future bright if we look beyond short-term

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I agree with Deloitte’s analysis that Queensland’s medium to long-term economic outlook is strong, as reported at the Brisbane Times website this morning (Queensland’s economic future rests on five ‘super wave’ industries): The combined economic power of five “super wave” … Continue reading →

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Recovery still on hold for Qld building industry, while mining construction work falls

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Gene Tunny

New data from the ABS today on building approvals for August and engineering construction activity for the June quarter confirm economic conditions in Queensland remain below average and we won’t see much of a recovery in the short-term (see charts … Continue reading →

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