I spoke yesterday afternoon with CCIQ Chief Economist Dr Marcus Smith about the latest COVID-19 news:

You can use these timestamps to find the highlights:

• 3:00 – Marcus’s recent commentary on coronavirus impact on Qld exports (e.g. COVID-19’s billion-dollar hit to Queensland exports as volumes sink)
• 6:10 – economic impact of social distancing measures; CCIQ members are “still in shock”; commercial rent issue yet to be formally resolved
• 10:00 – we’ll have  a “very different commercial landscape” post-coronavirus; whether many businesses will survive is an open question
• 11:45 – discussion of macroeconomic impacts (reference to OECD estimates, which have been nicely summarised by Brendan Coates at the Grattan Institute in his article COVID-19: New OECD estimates suggest a 22% hit to Australia’s economy)
• 14:00 – limited scope for both fiscal and monetary stimulus measures in current crisis
• 15:25 – discussion of federal Opposition’s concerns re. original design of JobKeeper wage subsidy
• 18:20 – discussion of how complexity in IR system is a challenge (NB the Government, unions, and industry associations appear to be working on this issue; e.g. see Award Flexibility during coronavirus)
• 20:30 – discussion of the need to reopen the hospitality sector as soon as we can (without damaging public health) to avoid further structural economic damage; mention of encouraging news Qld appears to be “flattening the curve”
• 22:30 – discussion of Adam Creighton’s Australian article advocating public sector wage cuts (see my previous QEW post Paradox of Thrift in recessions and depressions)
• 27:15 – big shout out to Queensland Health which appears to be doing a great job “flattening the curve” in Queensland

Pre-coronavirus social distancing measures, Jimmy’s on the Mall, Brisbane would have been heaving on a Friday afternoon. No longer.