Category Archives: Brisbane

Cross River Rail cost blowout means project doesn’t stack up

Posted on February 26, 2020 by

Based on recent Courier-Mail reports of a huge cost blowout, the Cross River Rail project could deliver a net loss to the community of around $5 billion, or almost $1,000 for every Queenslander.  The latest news about the troubled Cross … Continue reading →

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Priorities for boosting tourism in Qld

Posted on August 17, 2019 by

Veteran ad man Don Morris AO spoke to the Property Leaders Brisbane group at the swanky Emporium South Bank hotel on Thursday night about how Queensland can boost tourism. Morris, now at Pure Projects, was part of the Mojo Advertising … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Tourism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

City of Brisbane Investment Corporation should be shut down

Posted on May 29, 2019 by

In a victory for transparency, Brisbane ABC reporter Tim Swanston has finally got hold of PwC’s scathing review of Brisbane City Council’s City of Brisbane Investment Corporation, its so-called future fund. I recall discussing the rumoured existence of a damning … Continue reading →

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Outer-lying suburbs like Townsville’s Deeragun the most fertile

Posted on January 18, 2019 by

I am very pleased to be mentioned on the front page of today’s Townsville Bulletin in Tess Ikonomou’s article Townsville suburb Deeragun crowned NQ’s most fertile (pay-walled, sorry). As I told the Bulletin, in many cities, population pressures, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Concentration of Qld population in SEQ expected to increase with its higher rates of net migration

Posted on January 4, 2019 by

Regarding my previous post noting SEQ’s dominance in population terms, regular QEW reader Mike Willis commented perceptively: Gene, it seems the concentration will be reinforced, if the most recent Qld government statistician’s report is any guide. State population growth is … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Cairns, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Qld Councils & the 80/20 rule – 81% of Queenslanders live in just 12 out of 78 LGAs

Posted on January 2, 2019 by

In the final week of 2018, the Brisbane Times published an article The capital cities that ate Australia, which opened: They are the capital cities eating up the rest of Australia. Already home to more than two-thirds of the nation’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Population, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Fact check: does a majority of Qld’s population live outside the South-East?

Posted on October 2, 2018 by

Today’s Courier-Mail editorial Parties neglect our regions at their peril contains an interesting factoid: …a majority of the population in this state lives outside the southeastern conurbation with a string of major provincial cities along a vast coastline… Is this correct? … Continue reading →

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BCC residential parking permit zone in West End & Highgate Hill is bad policy

Posted on May 3, 2018 by

I have previously posted on the high cost of free parking, the problem identified by UCLA economics professor Donald Shoup that arises when councils do not properly price access to on-street parking (see Another example of the high cost of … Continue reading →

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

South Brisbane & South Townsville top Qld in building approvals so far in 2017-18

Posted on April 12, 2018 by

In my last post, I considered the Queensland construction industry outlook. In today’s post, I take advantage of new data on building approvals at the small area level (ABS SA2 regions) for 2017-18 so far released by the ABS yesterday. … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Housing, Townsville, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

4BC Dora the Explorer interview & ABC News coverage of my CBIC analysis

Posted on March 20, 2018 by

Dora the Explorer interview with Ben Davis on 4BC Yesterday afternoon I had an enjoyable chat with Ben Davis on his 4BC wireless show Brisbane Live regarding the state government’s use of taxpayers’ money to lure the live action Dora … Continue reading →

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