Author Archives: Gene Tunny

GFC-induced frugality hasn’t stopped drift to private schools

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Gene Tunny

In the wake of the financial crisis, Australians started saving more (see my post Retail trade restrained by stubbornly high saving rate), but it appears they are still willing to spend money on a private school education for their children. … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Pause in recovery in new motor vehicle sales in Qld

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Gene Tunny

While Queensland had decent growth of 6.9% through-the-year to February 2013 in new motor vehicle sales, we actually had the lowest growth rate across all States and Territories in new sales (see today’s new ABS data). Eyeballing the data, I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade, Transport | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

RBA says SEQ builders see signs of improvement in sector

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Christopher Kent of the RBA has given an informative speech on Recent Developments in the Housing Market, in which he noted there are signs of improvement in the SEQ building industry: Approvals in Queensland have been subdued, particularly on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

High Australian dollar has wide-ranging impacts – e.g. on CSR & local production of foreign films

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The high Australian dollar has been linked to job losses at CSR, according to an AAP report (CSR blames cuts and plant closure on currency). There is no doubt the high Australian dollar is having profound impacts on a number … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

4WD mums causing car-bike war theory sounds wacky, but motorists’ attitudes to cyclists do matter

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Gene Tunny

It has been observed internationally that cyclists are safer in communities where more people ride bikes (e.g. Copenhagen), because motorists are used to seeing to cyclists and treat them as legitimate road users. So the attitudes of our motorists toward … Continue reading →

Posted in Transport | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

ABARES forecasts large increases in seafood prices over coming decades

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The traditional seafood feast at Christmas will become much more expensive in future decades as limitations on our seafood stocks mean that rising demand significantly increases prices. This forecast is contained in ABARES’s new publication Global food production and prices … Continue reading →

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

Qld Treasury GRP figures show Far North really struggled post-financial crisis

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Queensland Treasury released its latest gross regional product (GRP) estimates yesterday, and they confirm that Far North Queensland really struggled in the post-financial crisis period, with the Far North’s GRP (in real terms) actually marginally contracting between 2006-07 and 2010-11 (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Coal Seam Guar – the most important agricultural product you may never have heard of

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I’m currently in Canberra attending the ABARES 2013 Outlook Conference and I must say I’m very impressed by the organisation of the conference and the program. The highlight of the first day for me was the presentation by Tony Matchett … Continue reading →

Posted in Mining | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Govt should embrace Costello Commission of Audit privatisation recommendations

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Unsurprisingly, the Peter Costello-led Queensland Commission of Audit has recommended privatisation of a large number of Queensland Government assets, as reported in the Courier-Mail this morning: SELL assets or spend the next half a century paying off debt. That is … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Queensland Government, Queensland Rail | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Did Qld’s sluggish economy force NZers and Brits back home?

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The controversy over the ABS’s odd comments on female representation in leadership positions (Women don’t have what it takes to lead, finds ABS) led me to examine its latest Social Trends report, which contains this interesting set of facts on international … Continue reading →

Posted in Migration | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment