Author Archives: Gene Tunny

Get it right the first time: the Paradise Dam example

The Queensland Government’s rural water business Sunwater has released a great video about the restoration of Bundaberg region’s Paradise Dam to its full capacity, which the state government finally agreed to last Christmas Eve.* This came after more than two … Continue reading

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Economic update and interest rate discussion at Brisbane Club next Wednesday

Australian Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy nicely summarised the economic outlook in his Opening statement to the Parliament’s Economics Legislation Committee yesterday: Nonetheless, while the disruption caused by Omicron has been significant, its overall economic impact is likely to be less … Continue reading

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UBI podcast chat w/ Ben Phillips, ANU Associate Professor and microsimulation modeller

My latest podcast episode features a conversation about the pros and cons of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) with my old UQ economics classmate Ben Phillips, now an Associate Professor at the ANU. Ben is one of Australia’s leading modellers … Continue reading

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Gigi Foster event on the Great COVID Panic + latest podcast episode on price controls & infrastructure

Thankfully, we’re getting much closer to a return to normality with the international border reopening. While we should focus on the brighter future, at the same time we should rigorously review what happened over the last two years, and ask … Continue reading

Posted in Health, Infrastructure | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Qld Titles Registry trickery should be investigated in integrity inquiry

There is growing pressure for a wide-ranging inquiry into the Queensland Government’s integrity, and, in my view, any such inquiry should explore the fake privatisation of the Titles Registry in mid-2021. This gave the Government political cover to take on … Continue reading

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Women in economics podcast chat with Leonora Risse (RMIT, ex-Harvard Women and Public Policy program)

Earlier this week, I spoke with Australian Women in Economics Network (WEN) chair Dr Leonora Risse, of RMIT and formerly of Harvard’s Women and Public Policy program, about how WEN is promoting greater gender diversity in the economics profession. Leonora’s … Continue reading

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Inflation & interest rates chat with 4BC’s Scott Emerson

Yesterday afternoon I had a quick chat with Scott Emerson on his 4BC Drive program about the accelerating CPI inflation revealed by the ABS yesterday (see chart above) and what it means for interest rates, with bank chief economists now … Continue reading

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UQ’s brilliant Critical Thinking Project explored in my latest podcast episode

In my latest podcast conversation with Philosophy Professor Deb Brown, I learned about the Critical Thinking Project run out of the University of Queensland. This is much needed in these confusing times, in which no one trusts politicians or traditional … Continue reading

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Shadow lockdown and supply-chain crisis – 9.30am Qld time livestream

I’m going live at 9.30am Queensland time this morning (Friday 21/1/22) to discuss the big economic issues of the week, particularly: Australia’s strong pre-omicron labour force figures from the ABS for December, although they weren’t much comfort given the current … Continue reading

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Fake privatisation of Titles Registry helping Qld Gov’t pretend it has debt management plan

This post is an early draft of an article I’m preparing for a public finance or public policy journal about the Queensland Government’s accounting trickery regarding the Titles Registry last year. The state government has violated some well-established principles for … Continue reading

Posted in Budget, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments