Author Archives: Gene Tunny

Should we worry about food security?

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The push for greater local food production in urban and peri-urban areas makes no economic sense in a country where there is abundant farm land, and hence I was pleased to learn about the views of a University of Queensland … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture | 2 Comments

Bunnings a big beneficiary of retail revival

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Delving into the retail trade data released yesterday by the ABS, it appears Queenslanders are DIY renovating and gardening more, brunching and dining out more, stocking up on shoes and boots, and buying much cheaper furniture, most likely due to … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade | Leave a comment

Great analysis of rebound in building approvals from HIA

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The strong rebound in building approvals across mainland Australia in May was welcome news today, although as noted by my former Treasury colleague Andrew Harvey, now Senior Economist at the Housing Industry Association, there are reasons for the rebound that … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Macroeconomy | 1 Comment

Far too early to call end of resources boom

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The slowdown in the Chinese economy has some market players worried about the outlook for the Australian resources sector, as reported by AAP (Mining boom over says, analyst). These concerns seem unwarranted, as any slowdown will be temporary, and there … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Mining | Leave a comment

Is Townsville or Cairns the capital of North Qld?

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Gene Tunny

There is an amusing debate occurring in North Queensland between Cairns economist Bill Cummings and Townsville economist Colin Dwyer over whether Cairns or Townsville has the larger population, as reported in the Townsville Bulletin on Friday. While there are more … Continue reading →

Posted in North Queensland, Population, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Two-speed economy shows up in job vacancies data

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The economies of the non-resources States are not looking healthy, if today’s ABS job vacancies data are any indication: MacroBusiness has good coverage of the national data (ABS job vacancies fall), with Houses and Holes observing: It appears that growth … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Mining | 1 Comment

Mining not the only job generator in two-speed economy

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Matt Grudnoff of the Australia Institute has a provocative piece in the Courier-Mail this morning (Newman is digging in wrong hole) in which he calls for the Government to slow down the resources boom due to its adverse impacts on … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Mining | Leave a comment

Decentralisation much harder than it sounds

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The Newman Government faces a challenge in fulfilling its commitment to relocate public servants to regional centres such as Townsville, if the experience of Queensland Rail’s passenger business is instructive. The Queensland Times reports this morning (Cancelled: QRS move to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ipswich, Queensland Government, Townsville | 1 Comment

2011 Census data shows Qld population previously over-estimated – implications for GST carve up

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Queensland Treasury bean counters wouldn’t have been happy when they saw the new ABS population estimates, which incorporate 2011 census data, and which contain a downward revision in Queensland’s estimated population (by 106,000 people) and share of Australia’s total population … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Population | Leave a comment

Resources boom impacts on volunteering

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Gene Tunny

As a gesture of goodwill to the local community, the LNG companies moving into Gladstone may wish to consider investing in training their workers in emergency services and rescue work, because the local State Emergency Services (SES) group is struggling … Continue reading →

Posted in Gladstone, Mining | Leave a comment