Category Archives: Cairns

Valuer-General’s report shows big slump from pre-GFC Gold Coast land values

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Gene Tunny

While I’m generally positive about the Queensland economy, I remain concerned about the short-term prospects of Cairns and the Gold Coast. Loose Change has coverage of the bad news on land valuations in the Cairns region contained in today’s report … Continue reading →

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Far North unemployment spike may just be sampling error

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Today’s ABS regional unemployment data contain bad news for the sluggish Far North economy. Loose Change observes (Ugly unemployment): The unemployment rate in the Far North for February is back above 10% with the latest ABS regional numbers released today. … Continue reading →

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More Chinese than Japanese tourists on Gold Coast

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Fascinating new regional tourism data from Tourism Queensland confirm the rise in Chinese tourism to Queensland and the massive opportunity it represents. I was especially surprised to see Chinese visitors to the Gold Coast exceeding Japanese visitors: The Japanese still … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Gold Coast, Tourism | Leave a comment

Is Far North Qld recovering?

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Cairns-based blogger KS at Loose Change has a couple of recent posts on news that may suggest a (modest) economic recovery is underway in the Far North: Airline flights boost Unemployment falls According to the latest OESR regional unemployment brief … Continue reading →

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FIFO Coordinator will be very busy

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Last week Australia’s first FIFO (i.e. fly-in, fly-out) Coordinator was appointed in Cairns, with the task of matching locals to FIFO job opportunities in the resources sector (FIFO Coordinator based in Cairns). Based on the ongoing sluggishness in the Far … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Mining, North Queensland | Leave a comment

Queensland wages growth trailing other States

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Peter Martin has a solid column in the Fairfax papers this morning on the ABS’s new average weekly earnings data, highlighting the strong growth in mining sector earnings and the very strong growth in earnings in Western Australia (Boom times … Continue reading →

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Surge in residential lot development approvals in Townsville, small recovery in Cairns

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Back in the 1980s, there was concern in the Townsville community about how Cairns, then experiencing rapid growth, would over-take Townsville to become the so-called capital of North Queensland. Obviously, that is no longer a possibility as Townsville appears to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Housing, North Queensland, Townsville | 2 Comments

Treasury Secretary on FIFO

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Gene Tunny

In a speech today to the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, Treasury Secretary Dr Martin Parkinson noted the role of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) work arrangements in spreading the benefits of the resources boom across Australia: The increasing accessibility and … Continue reading →

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Google Trends for Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Gene Tunny

KS at Loose Change has a great post reporting on negative Google Trends results for “Cairns” and “Great Barrier Reef”, which probably reflect declining international interest in Far North Queensland as a tourism destination: Google trends & insights One hopes … Continue reading →

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Cairns pins hopes on FIFO, Bundaberg on DIDO

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The resources boom is creating many employment opportunities in Queensland, but they’re not evenly distributed across the State. Hence, business and community leaders in Cairns and Bundaberg, which have endured high unemployment rates since the financial crisis, are looking to … Continue reading →

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