Author Archives: Gene Tunny

Good start for Public Transport Review Committee: scrapping free Go Card trips

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Gene Tunny

I was pleased to read that Queensland’s Public Transport Review Committee has recommended scrapping free Go Card trips that commuters have been getting after nine trips, and that this recommendation will be adopted in the upcoming State Budget, saving the … Continue reading →

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

Container deposit scheme very likely a costly bad idea

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Regrettably, there is now a bipartisan commitment in Queensland to what is very likely a costly bad policy, with the Opposition announcing its support for a container deposit scheme, otherwise known as a “cash for cans” scheme (see the Brisbane … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Upcoming Colin Clark lecture on defending against collusion by suppliers

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Australia has had some notorious cases of suppliers colluding with each other to fix prices, such as the SEQ pre-mixed concrete cartel, among Pioneer, Boral and CSR in the early 1990s, and the Visy and Amcor cardboard box cartel in … Continue reading →

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

OECD right to recommend “Close vigilance on housing-market developments is still required”

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Gene Tunny

I was not surprised to learn yesterday that the OECD remains concerned about Australia’s housing market, which has shown signs of over-heating, particularly in Sydney, although the OECD did note that there are “receding risks from the housing boom” (see … Continue reading →

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

Huge opportunities from closer relationships with Indonesia

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Gene Tunny

An enthusiastic and bright group of Indonesian officials arrived in Brisbane just over a week ago to undertake two-week short courses on public policy processes and public-private partnerships at the University of Queensland (see photo below). The courses are funded … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Trade | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Regional Qld still suffering from mining downturn and drought

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Gene Tunny

ABS regional labour force data for April reveal increasing unemployment in regional Queensland, particularly in Townsville and the Queensland outback, as regional Queensland endures the mining downturn and drought. Unemployment in the Queensland outback was at 10.4% in April, up … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, North Queensland, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

My comments on super repatriation in today’s Courier-Mail

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Page 17 of today’s Courier-Mail I am obviously concerned about the possible risks associated with the State Government’s planned withdrawal of funds set aside to meet defined benefit superannuation liabilities, and I am quoted to this effect in today’s Courier-Mail, … Continue reading →

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

Townsville Super Stadium guest post by Joe Branigan

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Gene Tunny

My fellow economists and friends are doing a good job of making me redundant as a blogger. Today’s guest post is from Joe Branigan of the SMART Infrastructure Facility and Cadence Economics. GT. So JT* wants a brand new football … Continue reading →

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

Post-Viridian, bodies corporate need economists – guest post by Stephen Thornton

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Gene Tunny

I am again fortunate that a fellow economist and friend, this time Stephen Thornton of Bluegreen Economics, has provided me with an interesting guest post on a topical issue. And, as Secretary of the Economic Society of Australia (Qld), I … Continue reading →

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Guest post by Rod Bogaards: Opportunity lost for Personalised Transport Review

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The long-awaited Green Paper for the Personalised Transport Review (aka the Uber Review) has been released. The trouble is, as highlighted by Gene Tunny in a previous post, the Green Paper provides almost no analysis to objectively assess the most … Continue reading →

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