Author Archives: Gene Tunny

Surge in Qld youth employment over 2017

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Gene Tunny

You have probably seen the media coverage of the strong jobs growth over 2017 for Australia. Queensland played a large part in this, with the highest employment growth rate among states and territories (4.6 percent through-the-year) and an increase in … Continue reading →

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Qld’s economic outlook for 2018

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Gene Tunny

CCIQ’s Joseph Kelly has published a nice note titled Business 2018 examining the outlook for Queensland business in 2018, in which he suggests “2018 has all the elements to be the year for business.” Factors that will boost Queensland’s economy … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Holiday reading – Till Time’s Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England 1694-2013

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Gene Tunny

Over the Christmas and New Year break, I finishing reading Till Time’s Last Sand, British historian David Kynaston’s masterful history of the Bank of England, covering its first 320 years since its establishment in 1694, when incidentally it became the … Continue reading →

Posted in Queensland Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Michael Knox on why the RBA won’t hike interest rates any time soon

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Gene Tunny

In today’s Financial Review, economics correspondent Jacob Greber observed: The RBA has gone more than seven years now without raising interest rates, the longest span since the official cash rate was introduced in the early 1990s. Indeed, on Melbourne Cup … Continue reading →

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Critical Qld Gov’t debt metric still projected to worsen

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday’s Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review revealed Queensland Government debt forecasts marginally lower than they were at budget time in June, but total borrowings will still reach nearly $81 billion by mid-2021. As Steven Wardill notes in today’s Courier-Mail: … Continue reading →

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Qld MYFER should factor in population growth pick up

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Gene Tunny

Higher coal royalty revenue associated with higher coal prices will be the big story coming out of Queensland’s Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review, to be released today, but there should be some other important variations to note. Population growth … Continue reading →

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Des Houghton’s comments on Qld Government’s daily interest bill of $10 million

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Gene Tunny

In an opinion piece published Monday, the Courier-Mail’s Des Houghton rightly highlighted the huge challenge new Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad faces in reining in spending, particularly given the significant burden placed on the budget by the interest on general government … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qld Health spending restraint should be a priority for new Treasurer Trad

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Gene Tunny

My colleague Nick Behrens from QEAS was quoted in yesterday’s Financial Review regarding the need for new Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad to restrain State Government spending growth, and he has made related comments in his latest newsletter. As is well … Continue reading →

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Retail turmoil disproportionately affects young people

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Gene Tunny

The recent collapse of Australian luxury retailer Oroton reminds us of the ongoing disruption to the retail sector caused primarily by online shopping, which incidentally is about to receive a massive boost in Australia. We have recently seen the establishment … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Retail trade, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Infeasible for Qld Greens to pay for extravagant promises by only taxing property developers & big corporations

Posted on November 23, 2017 by Gene Tunny

The Brisbane Times is reporting Queensland Greens, swelled by the newly enrolled, plan on ‘doing a Northcote’, and it appears that the Palaszczuk Government’s star performer, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, remains at risk of losing her seat of South Brisbane … Continue reading →

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