Monthly Archives: May 2014

Uber confusion – Premier was right to back Uber and support deregulated taxi industry

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I’m a bit confused about the Queensland Government’s position on the Uber ridesharing service, which has the potential to massively disrupt the highly regulated taxi industry. Taxi industry regulations, particularly the restricted number of licences, result in economic rents (i.e. super … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Qld Budget needs to reflect challenging conditions – asset sales good option to cut debt

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The March quarter private capital spending figures released today by the ABS confirm that Treasury was right to make conservative, sub-par growth forecasts in developing the Federal Budget. Queensland Treasury will have to do the same in the Queensland Budget, … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Macroeconomy, Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Qld residential building recovery due to new apartments and townhouses

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Gene Tunny

After the bad news about the recent slump in consumer confidence – which hopefully is just a short-term post-budget reaction – it’s good to see a recovery in residential building, which the Treasury and RBA are hoping will help drive … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trams unlikely to be cost-effective – buses generally much cheaper

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Gene Tunny

This morning on 612 ABC Brisbane, Steve Austin interviewed Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Daniel Gschwind, who would like to see trams return to the streets of Brisbane (Should trams return to Brisbane?). Mr Gschwind was honest enough to admit … Continue reading →

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How Seqwater learned to stop worrying and love Ipswich

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Despite initial fears about their relocation to Ipswich, it appears many staff of Seqwater, which runs South-East Queensland’s dams such as Wivenhoe and Somerset, have come to embrace the city. The local paper, the Queensland Times, which of course may … Continue reading →

Posted in Ipswich, Retail trade | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dogs in cafes debate highlights over-regulation by local governments

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Australians generally have much more conservative attitudes to pets in public places than people in other countries. I remember vividly one bus trip in Prague in the late nineties when I was the subject of a lot of attention from … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Coles backs Ipswich – good investment given strong population growth

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Coles has announced it is building three new stores in Ipswich, obviously recognising the strong current and projected population growth in the region (Coles project to bring new stores and 700 jobs to Ipswich). While Ipswich is currently around the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ipswich | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

TAFEs cutting costs as training market gets much more competitive

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Gene Tunny

It’s good to see that Queensland TAFEs are preparing for the more competitive training market expected in the next few years and are considering cutting courses that are not economically viable. For example, as reported on in the Fraser Coast Chronicle … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Consumers and businesses lacking confidence – growth may be even more sub-par

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday’s ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence figures show a slump in consumer sentiment, possibly caused by last week’s Federal Budget (see MacroBusiness’s story The epic crash in consumer confidence). The ANZ-Roy Morgan media release notes: ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell a further … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sub-par growth to continue as mining investment falls and govts restrain spending

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Head of Economic Analysis, Dr Jonathan Kearns, gave an informative presentation this morning on current economic conditions at an Economic Society of Australia (Qld branch) breakfast at the Brisbane Polo Club. The outlook for at … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment