Monthly Archives: January 2021

Ten years since the 2011 floods

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Gene Tunny

Ten years ago today, a swelling Brisbane River flooded the city, and made us question whether we really needed that $9 billion of climate-resilient water infrastructure the state government had commissioned in the middle of the drought, when there were … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Floods | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lockdown reading – Bezonomics

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Gene Tunny

One company that has done very well out of COVID is Amazon (see share price chart below). The wealth of its founder Jeff Bezos soared, and he has seemed untouchable as the richest man in the world, although he has … Continue reading →

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Thoughts after first full day of Brisbane lockdown

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Gene Tunny

Twenty-seven hours into it, I’m still doubtful about the wisdom of the Greater Brisbane lockdown, especially on a day when no new COVID community transmission cases were announced, and on a day when, bizarrely, our Premier appeared to celebrate her … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Brisbane Lockdown 2.0 – the sequel no one wanted

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Gene Tunny

To keep Queenslanders safe, our state government has decided to lock down the over2 million residents of Greater Brisbane for the next three days, but its sudden, unexpected announcement at 8am sparked immediate panic buying in our supermarkets, and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Budget, Macroeconomy, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Cannabis Industry to Light Up – guest post by Stephen Thornton

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Gene Tunny

The win by the US Democratic Party of two federal senate seats representing the state of Georgia creates a situation whereby the Republican Party will lose their majority in the Upper House. Given the Democrats control the House of Representatives, … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Post Corona by Scott Galloway is recommended reading

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Gene Tunny

The best commentator on what the post-Corona business world will look like is arguably NYU Stern Business School Professor Scott Galloway, an entrepreneur turned professor and YouTuber who GQ has labelled “Gordon Gecko with a social conscience”. I’ve recently read … Continue reading →

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ACCC right to call for Qld Gov’t to cut stamp duty on home insurance – $200 in stamp duty on each NQ home insurance policy on average

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Gene Tunny

The ACCC’s Final Report on its Northern Australia Insurance Inquiry has been released at last and, among other things, it rightly reiterates a recommendation made in previous reports to (on p. xxiii): Abolish stamp duty on home, contents and strata … Continue reading →

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

COVID compared with wartime economic impacts – my latest podcast episode

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Gene Tunny

The latest episode of my Economics Explored podcast features a conversation on whether COVID can be compared to wartime. The episode considers the different scales and scopes of the shocks, and what it all means for prospects for economic recovery. In … Continue reading →

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