Author Archives: Gene Tunny

Clever election commitment wording – Govt actually didn’t promise Tier 1 hospital for Cairns

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Gene Tunny

When I read the news that new Health Minister Lawrence Springborg is backing away from upgrading Cairns Base Hospital to a Tier 1 hospital, I thought it was very soon for the Government to back away from clear election commitments … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Health | 4 Comments

Wintergarden stage 2 opening at a good time

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Retailers in the newly opened Stage 2 of the redeveloped Wintergarden shopping centre on Brisbane’s Queen St Mall will be pleased with today’s ABS retail trade figures which show solid retail trade growth in Queensland, despite sluggish conditions in other … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade | Leave a comment

Annual cap on mining approvals undesirable and impractical

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Gene Tunny

In the Cairns Post today, in an article with the over-the-top title of People desert Cairns in droves, there is reference to the South of the Embley mining project which is being held up by the need to secure environmental … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Mining, North Queensland, VET | 1 Comment

Qld only State with recovery in building approvals

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Obviously today’s shocking building approvals data from the ABS increase the chances of an interest rate cut tomorrow (see Pressure grows for rate cut). Based on the ABS’s trend estimates for the major States, Queensland is the only State in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A case for slowing down the mining boom – aren’t we doing that already?

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Gene Tunny

In today’s Sydney Morning Herald, Ross Gittins discusses a new paper from the Australia Institute on the case to slow down the mining boom. I may be biased, but I thought we already were slowing it down? For example, see … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Mining | 2 Comments

Australians returning to Qld tourism regions (except for the Gold Coast)

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Gold Coast community leaders will be disappointed by data published yesterday by Tourism Queensland which show domestic visitor numbers declined in the 2011 calendar year, while other Queensland regions experienced an increase in domestic visitors: International visitor numbers have declined … Continue reading →

Posted in Tourism, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Farmers miss out when Govt gives $275M handout to Holden

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Gene Tunny

There is a great opinion piece in the rural press today (available at Queensland Country Life) on “Why Holden’s crutch matters to ag.” The author Gregor Heard opines: Some tough questions have to be asked about our car manufacturers and … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Industry policy, Infrastructure | Leave a comment

Costello is a good choice for the Commission of Audit

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Gene Tunny

I was pleased to see that Premier Newman has appointed Peter Costello to head the Commission of Audit (Newman hires Costello for financial check-up). Costello is first class and did a good job in restraining excessive spending under the Howard … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Industry policy | Leave a comment

Carbon tax will disproportionately impact Qld, so Newman has good reason to oppose it

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Gene Tunny

New Premier Campbell Newman has urged the Gillard Government to “think again” about the carbon tax (PM promises to listen as Newman warns), which is the right position for a Queensland Premier to take given: (a) the carbon tax will … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change | Leave a comment

Valuer-General’s report shows big slump from pre-GFC Gold Coast land values

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Gene Tunny

While I’m generally positive about the Queensland economy, I remain concerned about the short-term prospects of Cairns and the Gold Coast. Loose Change has coverage of the bad news on land valuations in the Cairns region contained in today’s report … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Gold Coast, Housing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment