Category Archives: Budget

Treasury wants to acknowledge unreliability of budget estimates

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Gene Tunny

There’s a great new working paper out today from the Commonwealth Treasury, Estimates of Uncertainty Around Budget Forecasts, which suggests a change to budget reporting that would make it hard for current and future Australian Governments to claim they will … Continue reading →

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Why have a debt ceiling?

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I have no problem with the Federal Government pushing to raise the debt ceiling to $500 billion (i.e. around one-third of the level of our GDP of $1.5 trillion), which on current projections is likely to be several tens of … Continue reading →

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Qld Government should maximise revenue from casinos

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Gene Tunny

It’s great news the Queensland Government is intending to increase the number of casino licences (see this ABC News report), given the boost this could give to tourism and the Queensland budget. I’ve previously commented that there is: Scope to … Continue reading →

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Scope to raise more revenue from gambling and cut bad taxes

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Gene Tunny

In making his case for getting Brisbane’s second casino licence, James Packer observed last week (according to the Courier-Mail): “Brisbane and Queensland have been badly let down by Echo – they have under-invested and underperformed. Queensland taxpayers are missing out … Continue reading →

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Senior public servants protected from job cuts

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Gene Tunny

During his interview of Treasurer Tim Nicholls on 7.30 Queensland tonight, Matt Wordsworth cited new Queensland public service data showing job cuts were borne by workers earning less than $100,000 per year, and the number of public servants earning more than … Continue reading →

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Disasters have had huge budgetary impacts

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland State Budget is out and it contains a clear analysis of the huge budgetary impact of natural disasters, particularly: the large expenditure associated with disasters (e.g. around $2.5 billion to deal with ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald’s impacts); and the … Continue reading →

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Qld budget surplus delay not a big deal, but reinforces need to consider Energex & Ergon sell off

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Gene Tunny

There won’t be much to report after the release of the Queensland Budget later today as it appears much of the big news has already been released, including a delay in achieving the Budget surplus, originally forecast for 2014-15 and … Continue reading →

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Brisbane ABC radio interview from this morning – why is budget forecasting so difficult?

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Steve Austin of 612 ABC Brisbane asked me an interesting question this morning: why is budget forecasting so difficult for Treasury departments? You can listen to my answer at this link: The Upcoming Budget For further information on the challenges … Continue reading →

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Flood-proofing levy has merit, but funds should go into Consolidated Revenue

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Given Queensland’s budgetary challenges, there is merit in the Government’s plan to raise additional money to pay for flood-proofing projects through a special levy, as reported in the Courier-Mail this morning. I would, however, advise against having the money paid … Continue reading →

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What’s really happening with Commonwealth payments to Qld for health?

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Gene Tunny

While Commonwealth Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has claimed the Budget gives $1bn extra for Queensland hospitals, Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls is criticising the Commonwealth for cuts to health and other areas of Government. For example, Mr Nicholls presented this table … Continue reading →

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