Category Archives: Agriculture

Get it right the first time: the Paradise Dam example

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Gene Tunny

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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Rainfall crucial for drought-afflicted Qld regions highly dependent on agriculture

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Gene Tunny

We’ve seen some impressive rainfall in Brisbane over the last few days, but it appears parts of the state such as Warwick which really need it can do with a lot more to fill dams and help them get over … Continue reading →

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Mining & Ag have partly shielded several Qld regions from COVID shock

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Gene Tunny

As shown in my post on the latest payroll jobs data from the ABS, the regions which have fared the best in Queensland since the COVID-related economic crisis began in March are Toowoomba and Central Queensland, likely due to the … Continue reading →

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Qld-Commonwealth argy bargy over dam funding & vertical fiscal imbalance

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Gene Tunny

The argy bargy over dam funding between the federal and state government reported by the Courier-Mail (State accuses feds of holding out on dam money) earlier this week is yet another illustration of a big problem in our federation: vertical … Continue reading →

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Rookwood Weir business case should be re-worked – first one suggested it’s a poor project, though

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Gene Tunny

Building a downsized 54,000 ML Rookwood Weir in Central Queensland, as the state government is now proposing following an estimated cost blowout, doesn’t appear sensible to me, as agricultural use of the water is critical to the project’s viability, and … Continue reading →

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Meat disruption: it’s here and now – guest post by Stephen Thornton

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Gene Tunny

Billions of dollars have been invested in Australia’s beef value chain in recent years, inspired partly by a rapidly growing Asian middle class with an increasing demand for protein. But, as in other industries, there is the potential for disruption … Continue reading →

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Economic impacts of the North & North West Qld floods – Initial views

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Gene Tunny

All week we have been hearing the awful news about all the dead cattle in North and North West Queensland as a result of the recent floods. An estimate of around half a million dead cattle has been suggested, although … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Floods, Mining, North Queensland, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

PC scathing of Qld sugar industry’s “dependency psyche” & “back to the future” re-regulation

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Gene Tunny

One of the low points for the current Queensland Government occurred in late 2015, when it failed to stop the Real Choice in Marketing legislation advanced by Katter’s Australian Party with support from the Opposition and Billy Gordon. This provided … Continue reading →

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Greater labour mobility a better way to assist PNG than budgetary support

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Gene Tunny

Last Thursday, ABC News reported that Papua New Guinea has asked for a re-direction of Australia’s foreign aid program towards direct contributions to PNG’s health and education budgets. PNG, a country already struggling with high population growth and public health … Continue reading →

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Health care business numbers up 17%, while retail, mining & farm business counts fall 8-9% over 2012 to 2016

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Gene Tunny

The structural change the Australian economy has experienced in recent years, including the decline in manufacturing and the decline of small retailers, at the same time as health care and other service sectors are booming, reveals itself in the latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Health, Mining, Retail trade, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments