Author Archives: Gene Tunny

Young Economist Award winner Lionel Page to explain how people can be “optimally irrational”

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Last year, the Prime Minister launched a behavioural economics or “Nudge” unit in his Department (see my post from last November), following similar initiatives in the US and UK. The Government is looking at how it can use the insights … Continue reading →

Posted in Social policy, Tax, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

No substitute for experience

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Gene Tunny

There is a very interesting story at the Huffington Post titled 15 Photos Show You Can Be Awesome At Your Job, No Matter Your Age. That this is the case should not be surprising. Winston Churchill’s finest years, for example, … Continue reading →

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

Be careful what you wish for on infrastructure spending

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The Brisbane Times this morning draws attention to the relatively low level of heavy or engineering construction activity (e.g. on roads, bridges, dams, etc) being undertaken for the public sector in Queensland at the moment, based on analysis by RPS’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Ex-Holden boss confirms that Carr’s car cash was excessive

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Lately I have been hearing a number of people lamenting the loss of car manufacturing in Australia. The loss of jobs is certainly devastating for many former assembly line workers of Holden, Ford and Toyota, who may struggle to find … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Upcoming CIS Liberty & Society weekend in Melbourne

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The Centre for Independent Studies sent a reminder note yesterday regarding its upcoming Liberty & Society weekend conference in Melbourne on October 14-16. This is a great opportunity for university students and recent graduates to have fun chatting about important … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

NZ not only beating us in Rugby, but in economic and demographic games, too

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Gene Tunny

A recent article at the Conversation is titled New Zealand is letting economics rule its environmental policies, which I suppose is meant to shock most Conversation readers. Reading the article it appears to me that NZ mostly appears to have … Continue reading →

Posted in Migration, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ragnarok in Brissywood

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Next week, the Brisbane CBD road closures for the filming of scenes for Thor: Ragnarok will obviously, through the disruption to traffic and local businesses, add to the already large multi-million dollar cost to the Queensland community of hosting the … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gig economy and baby boomers easing into retirement would partly explain why jobs growth mostly part-time

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The July labour force data released by the ABS yesterday were good news for Australia and Queensland, with the unemployment rate falling in seasonally adjusted terms for both Australia, from 5.8% to 5.7%, and for Queensland, from 6.4% to 6.1%. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Driverless cars and congestion charging up for discussion at IAQ Qld Infrastructure Summit 2016

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The well-known fatal crash involving a self-driving Tesla car and a lorry suggests a completely driverless future is some time away, but nonetheless regulators and businesses need to start preparing for it. Hence it is great to see driverless cars … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fantastic news about Uber legalisation – now Government needs to resist calls for compensation of taxi industry

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Gene Tunny

It is fantastic news that the Queensland Government will, finally, legalise Uber, as reported in both the Courier-Mail and Brisbane Times this morning, although the option the Government apparently prefers is somewhat less than full deregulation, as taxis will continue … Continue reading →

Posted in Transport, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments