Category Archives: Infrastructure

White Elephant Stampede – podcast chat w/ Scott Prasser

Posted on October 15, 2022 by Gene Tunny

Queensland has had more than its fair share of white elephant projects, including the Toowooomba Wellcamp quarantine facility and the Gold Coast desalination plant. The economics and politics of white elephants are considered in a new book from Connor Court … Continue reading →

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Gigi Foster event on the Great COVID Panic + latest podcast episode on price controls & infrastructure

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Gene Tunny

Thankfully, we’re getting much closer to a return to normality with the international border reopening. While we should focus on the brighter future, at the same time we should rigorously review what happened over the last two years, and ask … Continue reading →

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Qld population growth and interstate migration gains in perspective

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Gene Tunny

There is much excitement about Queensland having the highest population growth in Australia at the moment (e.g. see the Courier-Mail report ‘Once in a generation boom’ SEQ investment hits $60 billion), although, of course, population growth rates in Queensland and … Continue reading →

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How much momentum does business investment in Qld have?

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Gene Tunny

Last week, in responding to widespread business anxiety over the economic outlook, the Queensland Treasurer tried to talk up the economy by noting the June quarter National Accounts revealed a 5.7% increase in private investment in Queensland. Such strong growth … Continue reading →

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Qld’s heavy CAPEX pipeline dominated by public sector projects

Posted on July 3, 2021 by Gene Tunny

First, thankfully the Queensland Government will lift the Brisbane-Moreton lockdown at 6pm tonight, although the threat of future lockdowns remains, making it challenging to plan anything over the next couple of months. I’m really hoping the COVID spread is contained … Continue reading →

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Brisbane inner city and Qld outback get highest Qld Gov’t capital spending per person

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Gene Tunny

Here’s the latest version of a chart I usually prepare following each state budget on Queensland Government capital spending per person by region (i.e. the ABS SA4 regions). The very high per person spending figure for the Queensland outback is … Continue reading →

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More work needed to show SEQ Olympics would stack up

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Gene Tunny

The increasingly likely 2032 SEQ Olympics stimulated a lot of debate across Australia last week, and I expect scepticism of the Olympics will grow in the lead up to the Games. At the moment, regional Queenslanders such as Robbie Katter … Continue reading →

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Most host cities lose money on the Olympics – SEQ Olympics needs to be delivered cost-effectively

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Gene Tunny

While it’s exciting news that SEQ is the lead candidate for the 2032 Olympics (check out the Brisbane Times report), the reality is that the Olympics probably won’t be an economic boon and it will end up costing Queensland taxpayers … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Brisbane Inner City still the biggest beneficiary of Qld Gov’t CAPEX

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Following last year’s state budget, I posted on how Brisbane’s inner city was the big winner regarding state government capital spending. That continues in 2020-21 with the continuation of the huge Cross River Rail project (see chart below). Out of … Continue reading →

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Transcript of Megaprojects chat with Marion Terrill of Grattan

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Gene Tunny

A couple of weeks ago I spoke with Marion Terrill of the Grattan Institute regarding her new report on The Rise of Megaprojects (check out Megaprojects chat with Marion Terrill from Grattan). Marion made so many excellent points in the discussion … Continue reading →

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