Author Archives: Gene Tunny

Female breadwinning podcast chat with Gigi Foster

UNSW Economics Professor Gigi Foster, who you may know from her appearances on ABC’s Q&A and The Economists podcast, has done some fascinating research on the phenomenon of female breadwinning, whereby, in around one-in-four partnerships, the female earns more than … Continue reading

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Travel bubble great news for Qld’s 200,000 NZ-born

As Queensland Premier Palaszczuk pointed out yesterday on social media following the announcement of the travel bubble with New Zealand, Queensland has the largest number of NZ-born people in Australia. Indeed, according to the 2016 Census, Queensland had 201,200 NZ-born … Continue reading

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

Podcast chat with Nicholas Gruen on freeing fiscal policy from political tinkering

The latest episode of my Economics Explored podcast features a conversation I had earlier this week with Nicholas Gruen of Lateral Economics regarding his recent Financial Times opinion piece on the need for an independent fiscal policy advisory body. In … Continue reading

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Six houses, alike in dignity… not much else – guest post by Brendan Markey-Towler

This guest post by my good friend and fellow Queensland economist Dr Brendan Markey-Towler makes some excellent points regarding Queensland’s economic recovery from the COVID-recession – e.g. consumption spending has been goosed up by government benefits and, apart from in … Continue reading

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Another costly unnecessary lockdown for Brisbane

It’s obvious now we were lulled into a false sense of security several weeks ago by Queensland CHO Jeannette Young when she said future lockdowns were unlikely. Our CHO has panicked once again, caused the Premier a sleepless night, and … Continue reading

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Olympics: economic boon or burden? My latest podcast episode

InQld reported on Tuesday: A rare closed doors meeting of Brisbane City Council last night voted to support the city’s bid for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games after spending eight hours poring over details of how to satisfy the … Continue reading

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Unpacking the retail goods spending spree in 2020

Today’s Sunday Mail includes a good article by Jane Armitstead on The best-selling lockdown products we had to have: When the global pandemic hit, Queenslanders turned their focus to their homes and gardens with a boom in DIY projects. Homewares … Continue reading

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

Big test ahead for economy & will we regret all the lockdowns?

The latest retail trade figures from the ABS illustrate the challenge the Australian economy faces over the next few months with JobKeeper and the JobSeeker Coronavirus Supplement ending soon. Household disposable incomes have been boosted by all the generous assistance … Continue reading

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Qld state finances chat with ABC’s Steve Austin & QEAS’s Nick Behrens

Fellow Queensland economist Nick Behrens and I sat down with 612 ABC Brisbane’s Steve Austin to chat about the latest report from the Auditor-General on Queensland’s state finances. Of course, COVID is the big story since March last year, but, … Continue reading

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Cairns economy post-JobKeeper – conversation with Pete Faulkner of Conus

Queenslanders are waiting anxiously for the state government’s COVID media conference this morning, to learn what’s happening with the infection of the doctor at the PA Hospital. Let’s hope our authorities take into account the fact the vaccine is being … Continue reading

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