Author Archives: Gene Tunny

QIRC hearing important case on retail trading hours

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Industrial Relations Commission is currently considering an application from the National Retail Association, which represents big retailers such as Coles and Woolworths, for standardised trading hours across South East Queensland, which would extend opening hours, e.g. up to … Continue reading →

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

Qld employment growth is great news, but it is still not strong from historical perspective

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Wisely, Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt did not get too excited over yesterday’s employment numbers, which were surprisingly strong at a national level, with the Treasurer noting, regarding the State unemployment rate, “While it’s welcome news that the seasonally adjusted unemployment … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australia Awards program with Indonesian Finance Ministry officials on strengthening the public policy process

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In late October, I felt honoured to deliver workshops on economic forecasting and industry policy to officials from the Indonesian Ministry of Finance. The officials were recipients of Australia Awards from the Australian Government and were visiting Brisbane to attend … Continue reading →

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

Great presentation by HSBC’s Paul Bloxham on the economic outlook to ESA Qld

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In Brisbane today, HSBC’s Chief Economist (Australia & NZ) Paul Bloxham gave a terrific presentation on the economic outlook to the Queensland branch of the Economic Society of Australia, of which I am the Secretary. You can download his slides, … Continue reading →

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

Brisbane ABC radio interview on raising the GST

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Gene Tunny

I had a good chat this morning with Terri Begley on 612 ABC Brisbane regarding proposals to raise more revenue from the GST: What raising the GST actually means I noted that raising the GST and cutting more inefficient taxes … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Economics and environmental law seminar timely given debate over CSG & Galilee

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Gene Tunny

One of the new words we have heard in recent years is “lawfare”, the use of the law as a weapon of war. In Australia, it has been alleged that environmental groups such as the Australian Conservation Foundation and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Environment, Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Queensland businesses remain pessimistic on average

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Queensland businesses remain a relatively pessimistic bunch, based on the latest data from the Westpac-CCIQ Pulse Survey, which I have previously argued is the most reliable data on business confidence in Queensland (see my post from June). CCIQ’s media release … Continue reading →

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

Townsville ABC radio interview on GST

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The GST debate continues, with much attention focused on the regressive nature of the GST. That is, because poorer households typically consume higher fractions of their incomes than richer households, they pay proportionally more of their incomes in GST. Hence … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HSBC’s Paul Bloxham to discuss services sector in time of no ordinary disruption

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Gene Tunny

I am very much looking forward to the presentation in Brisbane next Wednesday by HSBC’s Paul Bloxham, on Australia’s next growth driver: The rise of the services sector, to the Queensland branch of the Economic Society of Australia, of which … Continue reading →

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

Tax mix switch to GST desirable and inevitable

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Gene Tunny

I’m very pleased the Turnbull Government is pushing to raise more money from the GST, as this would allow cuts to more inefficient taxes such as income tax and stamp duty, and would be good for productivity and economic growth. … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments