Monthly Archives: May 2016

Huge opportunities from closer relationships with Indonesia

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Gene Tunny

An enthusiastic and bright group of Indonesian officials arrived in Brisbane just over a week ago to undertake two-week short courses on public policy processes and public-private partnerships at the University of Queensland (see photo below). The courses are funded … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Trade | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Regional Qld still suffering from mining downturn and drought

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Gene Tunny

ABS regional labour force data for April reveal increasing unemployment in regional Queensland, particularly in Townsville and the Queensland outback, as regional Queensland endures the mining downturn and drought. Unemployment in the Queensland outback was at 10.4% in April, up … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, North Queensland, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

My comments on super repatriation in today’s Courier-Mail

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Page 17 of today’s Courier-Mail I am obviously concerned about the possible risks associated with the State Government’s planned withdrawal of funds set aside to meet defined benefit superannuation liabilities, and I am quoted to this effect in today’s Courier-Mail, … Continue reading →

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

Townsville Super Stadium guest post by Joe Branigan

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Gene Tunny

My fellow economists and friends are doing a good job of making me redundant as a blogger. Today’s guest post is from Joe Branigan of the SMART Infrastructure Facility and Cadence Economics. GT. So JT* wants a brand new football … Continue reading →

Posted in Townsville, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Post-Viridian, bodies corporate need economists – guest post by Stephen Thornton

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Gene Tunny

I am again fortunate that a fellow economist and friend, this time Stephen Thornton of Bluegreen Economics, has provided me with an interesting guest post on a topical issue. And, as Secretary of the Economic Society of Australia (Qld), I … Continue reading →

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Guest post by Rod Bogaards: Opportunity lost for Personalised Transport Review

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The long-awaited Green Paper for the Personalised Transport Review (aka the Uber Review) has been released. The trouble is, as highlighted by Gene Tunny in a previous post, the Green Paper provides almost no analysis to objectively assess the most … Continue reading →

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

Uber/Taxi Green Paper not too bad, but needs more economic analysis and evidence

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Gene Tunny

In the Green Paper on Queensland’s Personalised Transport Industry released by the Queensland Government yesterday, I was hoping to see a cost-benefit analysis of the different reform options, an analysis which would reveal the large benefits to consumers coming from … Continue reading →

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

Qld unemployment rate trends up and jobs trend down

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The April 2016 ABS jobs data confirm the view I have expressed for a while now that the Queensland economy is under-performing (see charts below and Treasury’s brief). While in South-East Queensland conditions appear reasonable, the regions are struggling with … Continue reading →

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

Transparency and good governance essential for successful infrastructure projects

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Gene Tunny

After my recent post on mega-projects, I came across this excellent presentation, by a Jacobs consultant and an Adelaide University academic, which was delivered to a conference in Adelaide last year: Jacobs presentation on infrastructure risks and mega projects The … Continue reading →

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

New motor vehicle sales lower in Qld than before financial crisis

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Gene Tunny

New motor vehicle sales data for April released by the ABS yesterday support the RBA Board’s decision to cut the cash rate on Budget day earlier this month, with sales down 2.5% in April nationwide, and down 7.7% in Queensland, … Continue reading →

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