Monthly Archives: July 2014

IR reform should have same priority as tax reform

Posted on July 30, 2014 by

Jessica Irvine has a great piece in the News Limited media today on how Tony Abbott must act now to reverse Australia’s economic demise. I agree with her that reforming the tax system is extremely important, but I’m surprised she … Continue reading →

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Good news for regional Qld if Carmichael mine goes ahead – jobs market weaker than in SEQ

Posted on July 28, 2014 by

The big news for the Queensland economy today is the Federal Government’s approval, subject to meeting environmental conditions, of Adani’s massive Carmichael Coal and Rail Project. There are, however, doubts about whether the project remains economically viable given the downturn … Continue reading →

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Productivity and Privatisation – panel discussion at Griffith University, Southbank

Posted on July 23, 2014 by

I was delighted to speak alongside productivity expert Dean Parham at a Griffith University panel discussion earlier tonight on productivity and privatisation. Thanks to Alex Robson of Griffith for organising the excellent, well-attended event. My prepared remarks are below. I … Continue reading →

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Unclear whether Qld Govt will have evidence needed to win asset sales debate

Posted on July 22, 2014 by

The Queensland Government is right to have begun advertising for advisers on asset sales, to ensure that assets such as CS Energy and Stanwell are sold in a timely fashion after the next election (Government advertises for asset sales advisors). The … Continue reading →

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Qld has three of top five regional areas with most expensive residential lots

Posted on July 17, 2014 by

The Housing Industry Association released a very interesting note today on median lot prices in capital cities and regional Australia (i.e. non-Capital City Australia): Land price pressures signal policy failure. The data should prompt a number of Queensland Councils to review their … Continue reading →

Posted in Gold Coast, Housing, Mackay | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Reality check for Townsville – no metropolis of 1 million before end of century

Posted on July 17, 2014 by

Judging by recent articles in the Townsville Bulletin, Townsville appears obsessed with the idea it will grow to 1 million people from its current population of just under 200,000. The Townsville Bulletin reported yesterday (Townsville tipped to hit 1 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Townsville | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Wise words from the PC on capital/asset recycling

Posted on July 15, 2014 by

I’ve been a strong supporter of the Queensland Government’s privatisation agenda, but have been unimpressed by the Strong Choices campaign promoting the agenda, which is uninformative and based on questionable logic. In its just-released Public Infrastructure Inquiry Report, the Productivity … Continue reading →

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Carbon tax repeal good news for Qld economy

Posted on July 14, 2014 by

I’m very pleased the Senate will allow the repeal of the carbon tax (Carbon tax to be abolished on third attempt), given that: Queensland would have been disproportionately affected due to our heavy reliance on coal-fired power generation; and it never made … Continue reading →

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Qld doing poorly at attracting interstate visitors (as well as international visitors)

Posted on July 9, 2014 by

According to new National Visitor Survey data, Queensland is doing poorly at attracting interstate visitors, compounding the difficulties faced by our tourism sector, which isn’t seeing growth in international visitors (see my post from Monday, International visitor numbers increasing – but … Continue reading →

Posted in Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

International visitor numbers increasing – but Qld doing poorly in attracting them

Posted on July 7, 2014 by

Pete Faulkner has a good post today on the new ABS overseas arrivals and departures data for May 2014: Arrivals hit new highs as China continues to grow. While arrivals to Australia hit new highs, Queensland doesn’t appear to be … Continue reading →

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