Category Archives: Industry policy

Budget repair challenge means Govt should reject calls to assist Holden and Qantas

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I spoke with Pat Hession on ABC North Queensland radio yesterday afternoon on the removal of the Commonwealth Government’s debt ceiling, effectively its “credit card limit” as Pat described it. I made the following points: I’m disappointed the debt ceiling … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Industry policy, Tax | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

New Government should reject car industry begging

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Since the late 1940s, Australia has bought itself a car industry, first through very high tariff protection that rose to around 57% by the 1980s, and then through financial assistance that, in part, replaced the benefits of tariff protection to … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Michael Porter on Cairns’s tourism cluster

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Gene Tunny

In a recent talk (Social Progress and Competitive Growth), Michael Porter illustrated the concept of an industry cluster using the Cairns tourism sector as an example (see figure below from Porter’s presentation). Basically I think it illustrates just how difficult … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Drum opinion piece – Taxpayer money wasted chasing film productions

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The ABC’s The Drum has published an opinion piece of mine: Taxpayer money wasted chasing film productions I see very little merit in Government assistance to the film industry, apart from supporting the creation of genuine Australian content that helps … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Potential impact on Ford sales of plant closures

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Jeff Waters of ABC News Victoria interviewed me today regarding the potential impact on Ford sales of “badwill” and anxiety over servicing and parts availability created by the announced plant closures: Buyers cautious after Ford’s announced closures I told Jeff … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Retail trade | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Future of Australian car industry depends a lot on the exchange rate

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Gene Tunny

It’s been clear for a long time – well, all the time since Mitsubishi shut down in early 2008 – that Ford was the next Mitsubishi, so today’s plant closures aren’t that unexpected. Once again, as I more-or-less observed in … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Is it worth paying $10K each for temporary film industry jobs?

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Gene Tunny

So Captain Nemo is coming to Australia, possibly to the Gold Coast, and the Australian Government will provide a $21 million subsidy, as reported earlier today in the Gold Coast Bulletin (Govt commits $21m for sci-fi film): THE Federal Government … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Buy locally campaign unnecessary, but harmless

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Gene Tunny

It seems obvious to me that buying from local businesses is good for the local economy and I suspect it’s obvious to most Queenslanders, too, but for some reason we need a Government information campaign to tell us this (Think … Continue reading →

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

Billion dollar Jobs Plan assumes local businesses aren’t getting fair share of work from big projects

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The Commonwealth Government’s $1 billion Jobs Plan announced today (see media release) appears to be based on an assumption that Australian businesses aren’t getting a fair share of work out of major projects. I find this odd considering the massive … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Holden chief’s weird call for independent review of car industry

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Gene Tunny

I was stunned when I read that Holden boss Mike Devereux has called for an independent review of the car industry, presumably in relation to Government assistance (see ‘Deadline looms’ for car industry). The Australian car industry should be extremely … Continue reading →

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