Monthly Archives: November 2015

Governments find a gentle nudge can get results

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Australians should be prepared for more nudges from government agencies encouraging us to do the right thing, similar to recent examples such as letters from the ATO urging us to pay our taxes to support our way of life, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Social policy, Tax, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Building construction rebounded in September quarter, but still below previous highs

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Gene Tunny

All the cranes on the Brisbane skyline, from the Valley and Newstead, to West End, Milton and Toowong, might suggest there is a building boom underway. Certainly activity is increasing in the building industry. Building construction work done in Queensland … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Mining, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Courier-Mail’s Paul Syvret on my “coldly commercial prism”

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Thanks to the Courier-Mail’s Paul Syvret for quoting my last post in his Saturday opinion piece on the proposed new 1,500 seat theatre for Brisbane (see Opinion: New inner-city theatre would be a boost for Brisbane, which may be behind … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

New 1,500 seat theatre would likely be a waste of taxpayers’ money

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Government is commissioning a relatively large business case, at a cost of $1.3 million, for a new 1,500 seat theatre for Brisbane, but it is likely there can be no plausible business case, because the theatre would be a … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

QIRC hearing important case on retail trading hours

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Industrial Relations Commission is currently considering an application from the National Retail Association, which represents big retailers such as Coles and Woolworths, for standardised trading hours across South East Queensland, which would extend opening hours, e.g. up to … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Qld employment growth is great news, but it is still not strong from historical perspective

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Wisely, Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt did not get too excited over yesterday’s employment numbers, which were surprisingly strong at a national level, with the Treasurer noting, regarding the State unemployment rate, “While it’s welcome news that the seasonally adjusted unemployment … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australia Awards program with Indonesian Finance Ministry officials on strengthening the public policy process

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In late October, I felt honoured to deliver workshops on economic forecasting and industry policy to officials from the Indonesian Ministry of Finance. The officials were recipients of Australia Awards from the Australian Government and were visiting Brisbane to attend … Continue reading →

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

Great presentation by HSBC’s Paul Bloxham on the economic outlook to ESA Qld

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In Brisbane today, HSBC’s Chief Economist (Australia & NZ) Paul Bloxham gave a terrific presentation on the economic outlook to the Queensland branch of the Economic Society of Australia, of which I am the Secretary. You can download his slides, … Continue reading →

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

Brisbane ABC radio interview on raising the GST

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Gene Tunny

I had a good chat this morning with Terri Begley on 612 ABC Brisbane regarding proposals to raise more revenue from the GST: What raising the GST actually means I noted that raising the GST and cutting more inefficient taxes … Continue reading →

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

Economics and environmental law seminar timely given debate over CSG & Galilee

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Gene Tunny

One of the new words we have heard in recent years is “lawfare”, the use of the law as a weapon of war. In Australia, it has been alleged that environmental groups such as the Australian Conservation Foundation and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Environment, Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment