Monthly Archives: February 2016

Qld economy patchy – SEQ appears fine, but much of rest of Qld struggling

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Gene Tunny

I had a nice chat with Ben Davis on his 4BC Live program yesterday afternoon about the state of Queensland’s economy, a discussion which was inspired by the flurry of press releases that came from the State Government in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Is banning plastic bags the best option to tackle litter and reduce waste?

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Guest post by Rod Bogaards It looks like a push is on to ban single-use plastic bags nationally according to the Courier-Mail. A ban has already been implemented in some of the smaller states and territories but not elsewhere. Perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Low wages growth adds to concerns over strength of economy

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The ABS was right to identify the extraordinary nature of the December quarter wages data in the title of its media release, “2015 ends with lowest wage growth on record.” This applies at both the national level and in Queensland … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Labour market, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Upcoming FACCI seminar on planning and operating Qld’s infrastructure

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The French-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FACCI) is holding a very interesting breakfast event in Brisbane on Thursday 17 March on the topic of planning and operating Queensland’s infrastructure. The seminar will feature David Quinn, Building Queensland CEO, and … Continue reading →

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On-street parking charges a better solution than Harding plan

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Gene Tunny

One important lesson from economics is that problems are most efficiently solved by setting prices right rather than by regulations mandating particular actions. So it is with the problem identified by Brisbane residents of being parked out of suburban streets … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Recent quotes from QEW in Qld Parliament and the Courier-Mail

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Gene Tunny

I was very pleased to see that Rod Bogaards’s guest post last week on the lockout laws was quoted in the parliamentary debate on the laws (see p. 216 of Hansard for Wednesday, 17 February): Mr MANDER: No, it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Social policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Upcoming CPA Australia NFP conference

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The discouraging January labour force data released by the ABS yesterday make the economic outlook even more interesting, and Adam Creighton from The Australian is certainly correct that the weak labour market, which saw an increase in the national unemployment … Continue reading →

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Unemployment data confirm Qld economy still in soft patch

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Regular readers will know that I have been a bit skeptical about the State Government’s overly optimistic statements regarding the Queensland economy (e.g. see yesterday’s post). The economy has certainly been resilient at the end of the mining boom, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Trend is the Treasurer’s friend

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt issued an upbeat media release on the Queensland economy yesterday, but I am unsure the Queensland Treasury gross state product (GSP) data he quotes should be interpreted as optimistically as he interprets them. The media … Continue reading →

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Negative gearing fine in principle, but capital gains tax discount creates major distortion

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The Australian Government is right to be looking at reforming the rules around negative gearing, as the current rules appear to be distorting the market and encouraging excessive borrowing for investment properties (as well as denying the Government significant amounts … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Tax, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 12 Comments