Monthly Archives: December 2017

Michael Knox on why the RBA won’t hike interest rates any time soon

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Gene Tunny

In today’s Financial Review, economics correspondent Jacob Greber observed: The RBA has gone more than seven years now without raising interest rates, the longest span since the official cash rate was introduced in the early 1990s. Indeed, on Melbourne Cup … Continue reading →

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

Critical Qld Gov’t debt metric still projected to worsen

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday’s Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review revealed Queensland Government debt forecasts marginally lower than they were at budget time in June, but total borrowings will still reach nearly $81 billion by mid-2021. As Steven Wardill notes in today’s Courier-Mail: … Continue reading →

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

Qld MYFER should factor in population growth pick up

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Gene Tunny

Higher coal royalty revenue associated with higher coal prices will be the big story coming out of Queensland’s Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review, to be released today, but there should be some other important variations to note. Population growth … Continue reading →

Posted in Population, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Des Houghton’s comments on Qld Government’s daily interest bill of $10 million

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Gene Tunny

In an opinion piece published Monday, the Courier-Mail’s Des Houghton rightly highlighted the huge challenge new Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad faces in reining in spending, particularly given the significant burden placed on the budget by the interest on general government … Continue reading →

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

Qld Health spending restraint should be a priority for new Treasurer Trad

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Gene Tunny

My colleague Nick Behrens from QEAS was quoted in yesterday’s Financial Review regarding the need for new Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad to restrain State Government spending growth, and he has made related comments in his latest newsletter. As is well … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Health, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Retail turmoil disproportionately affects young people

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Gene Tunny

The recent collapse of Australian luxury retailer Oroton reminds us of the ongoing disruption to the retail sector caused primarily by online shopping, which incidentally is about to receive a massive boost in Australia. We have recently seen the establishment … Continue reading →

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