Monthly Archives: June 2015

Stamp duty has to go – time to consider greater reliance on land tax & GST

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Gene Tunny

It is lamentable that our State Governments are so reliant on a source of revenue, stamp duty, that is very costly to the economy and has no defenders outside of State Treasuries who would greatly miss the money if it … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Courier-Mail story on Qld Govt’s fiscal challenges

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Gene Tunny

I was quoted by John McCarthy in an article in today’s Courier-Mail (see image above) regarding the Queensland Government’s fiscal challenges. I’ve previously commented on the big challenge the Government has of sticking to its fiscal strategy announced at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Infrastructure, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nice words from Chris Joye in the AFR regarding my question to the RBA Governor

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Leading financial economist Chris Joye has written a great piece in the Australian Financial Review on the issue of how long interest rates may stay at the very low levels they are now (RBA’s Glenn Stevens wrong on low rates … Continue reading →

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

Qld bouncing back nicely after technical recession in 2014

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The ABS labour force data for May give me much greater confidence that Queensland is bouncing back nicely from the technical recession we experienced over much of 2014 due to the end of the mining boom (see chart above). Queensland’s … Continue reading →

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

RBA should leave fiscal policy advice to the Treasury

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Gene Tunny

RBA Governor Glenn Stevens gave an odd speech in Brisbane yesterday, in which he more-or-less suggested the federal Government should try to offset the demand shock from the end of the mining boom with expanded infrastructure investment, and that now … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

QCA finds multiple policy failures associated with billions in industry assistance in Qld

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Gene Tunny

It appears that the QCA’s draft report on Industry Assistance in Queensland was released last Friday, a Friday before a long weekend, traditionally a good time to release reports that governments would rather be ignored and forgotten. But this report … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Qld Treasury’s forecasting record has improved in last few years, but big test to come

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In the Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review at the end of 2014, Queensland Treasury downgraded its economic growth forecast for Queensland in 2014-15 from 3% to 2.5%, to reflect the weaker economic outlook. After Queensland’s technical recession in the last … Continue reading →

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

Victoria threatens to overtake Qld in international visitors

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In a recent post, regarding new ABS data on the State or Territory in which short-term (i.e. for less than one year) international visitors to Australia spent the most time, Mark Beath asks: “Surely Victoria can’t really be about to … Continue reading →

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

Strategy is about asking the right questions

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Gene Tunny

There is something alluring about the number seven. According to Miles Davis, there are seven steps to heaven, and, according to Harvard Business School Professor Robert Simons, there are seven important strategy questions for businesses to ask themselves. Professor Simons … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Qld economy enduring shock from end of mining boom as well as could be expected

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The March quarter National Accounts data released yesterday surprised on the upside with quarterly growth at 0.9 per cent, but as some commentators have noted there remains a downside risk over the next 12-24 months from much lower capital expenditure … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Mining | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments