Monthly Archives: March 2014

CairnsWatch remains optimistic despite very weak Cairns labour market

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Rick Carr of Herron Todd White Cairns has released the March edition of his excellent CairnsWatch report, and it contains this disturbing chart of employment in the Cairns region, which suggest a very weak economy: Let’s hope employment in Cairns … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Qld taxi queues compared to bread lines in Soviet Russia

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Gene Tunny

On 612 ABC Brisbane radio this morning, Steve Austin interviewed my friend and colleague Brad Rogers on Queensland’s highly regulated taxi industry. In the interview, Brad discussed the large cost that the restricted supply of taxi licences imposes on consumers … Continue reading →

Posted in Transport | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Large savings for Qld Govt from shift to private schooling

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Last week I posted on trends in private school enrolments, and my colleague and friend Brad Rogers commented to me that the shift to private schooling is bringing significant savings to the State Government. While State Schools receive the bulk … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Queenslanders moving to Victoria

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Gene Tunny

A closer look at the new population data from the ABS shows just how attractive Victoria has become to interstate migrants, including interstate migrants from Queensland. While Queensland is still attracting interstate migrants, as I’ve discussed in earlier posts (Interstate … Continue reading →

Posted in Migration, Population | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Interstate migration to Qld remains low, probably reflecting sluggish labour market

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I remember it was once common in Australian TV shows to have characters move to Queensland when the actors wanted to leave the series or a character was no longer popular. The TV shows had obviously noticed the popularity of Queensland … Continue reading →

Posted in Migration, Population | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Trends in private school enrolments – big change in primary school enrolments

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Gene Tunny

A significant trend in education in recent decades has been the strong growth in private school enrolments as many parents have become convinced private schools offer a better and safer school environment. Queensland Treasury’s information brief on the new ABS Schools … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Lower taxes across Australia preferable to special treatment for NQ

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Townsville Chamber of Commerce has called for a revamp of current tax arrangements for North Queensland. The Chamber is concerned the existing Zone Tax Offset has been eroded in value by inflation and is being claimed by fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers who … Continue reading →

Posted in North Queensland | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Qld unemployment hot spots – Ipswich, Cairns and Wide Bay

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I’ve prepared some maps of regional unemployment rates based on last week’s new regional labour force data from the ABS for February 2014 (see below). The figures I’ve used are taken from Queensland Treasury’s information brief, which presents 12-month moving … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qld Treasury right that paying down State debt is a huge challenge

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Queensland Treasury’s new Economic and Fiscal Challenges report reiterates the huge challenge ahead in paying down debt and restoring Queensland’s AAA credit rating, which isn’t a likely prospect this decade. The projection that debt levels will stabilise at around $80 … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Multiple exemptions to evidence-based policy

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Gene Tunny

In recent years we’ve seen a number of colossal Government policy failures, including the National Broadband Network and the home insulation scheme, which is now being investigated by a Royal Commission. These failures have resulted from poor policy development processes … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments