Monthly Archives: July 2015

Government right to consider migration for aged care, child care and disability care jobs

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Gene Tunny

One of the most interesting things I did while at the Treasury was to help develop the program for the first G20 meeting in Australia, which was a workshop on Demographic Challenges and Migration, held in Sydney in August 2005, … Continue reading →

Posted in Migration | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Accounting trick wouldn’t improve Qld Government’s real financial position

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Today’s Courier-Mail features an exclusive from State Political Reporter Steven Wardill on “Pitt’s Debt Trick.” It suggests the Government intends to transfer $4.1 billion of debt from the General Government sector (i.e. the government agencies such as health and education) … Continue reading →

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ACE 2015 tax policy panel discussion involving Treasury suggests little chance of major tax reform

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The official Treasury water bottle. A pleasant surprise in the ACE 2015 conference bag. Thanks to Graeme Davis from Treasury, Alex Robson from Griffith, Miranda Stewart from ANU and Paul Abbey from PwC for some informative and stimulating presentations at … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

ACE2015 careers session on a day in the life of a professional economist

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The 2015 Australian Conference of Economists (ACE2015) has commenced in Brisbane at QUT’s Gardens Point campus. Yesterday I participated as a panelist in a session at the PhD Colloquium on a day in the life of a professional economist, along … Continue reading →

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Undoubtedly China crash bigger risk to Australia than Grexit

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The news.com.au finance reporter Frank Chung is right to note the risks to Australia from a possible crash in China are much greater than the risks from the Greek crisis (see Chinese chaos worse than Greece). We are much more … Continue reading →

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Strong LNG-led export growth means Qld should record economic recovery in first half of 2015

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Queensland appears on track to record a recovery from the technical recession of the second-half of 2014, due to a large increase in exports in recent months, in part associated with the LNG now being shipped out of Gladstone (see … Continue reading →

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Ethanol mandate should not proceed without cost-benefit analysis

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Before the Queensland Government commits to the 2 per cent ethanol mandate proposed in the biofuels discussion paper, it should commission a cost-benefit analysis to ensure that the costs the mandate will impose on motorists, estimated at over $4 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Curtis Island LNG projects more-or-less doubled heavy construction activity in peak period

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Gene Tunny

About the great American mountain-man Jim Bridger, Johnny Horton sang “That he was making history never once occurred to him.” I wonder if the men and women who have worked on the Curtis Island LNG plants have realised that they … Continue reading →

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