Category Archives: Macroeconomy

Qld: hot or not? My presentation at the Brisbane Club on Wednesday 6 February

It was a great day to give an economic outlook presentation, with RBA Governor Philip Lowe announcing a change in monetary policy guidance, from saying the next rate movement would most likely be up, to saying the cash rate may … Continue reading

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Suncorp-CCIQ Pulse Survey confirms decline in business confidence

In my wrap up of last week (see my previous post) I noted that I expected the latest Suncorp-CCIQ Pulse Survey would be discouraging and would counter the optimism of Deloitte Access Economics’s recent business outlook which was cited approvingly … Continue reading

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QEW video – the week that was: 27-Jan to 2-Feb-19

First, my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Townsville and North Queensland in this challenging time of heavy rain and flooding. Second, below is a slide show (with commentary) I’ve recorded on the economic news of the last … Continue reading

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Lessons from the GFC symposium at Griffith’s Ship Inn Function Centre on 7 March

In this final week of January ten years ago, the fifth floor of the Treasury Building in Canberra was a hive of activity. Hard-working Treasury officials, including me, were putting together the 2009 Updated Economic and Fiscal Outlook in which … Continue reading

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Upcoming QMCA breakfast presentation on the Qld economic outlook for 2019

On Friday 8 February, I will present on Queensland’s economic outlook at the Queensland Major Contractors Association’s first breakfast event for 2019. With all the uncertainty in the global economy, it’s been a very interesting holiday period, and I’ll include … Continue reading

Posted in Health, Macroeconomy, Mining, Retail trade, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qld economy continues to disappoint

Queensland’s economic under-performance, which I’ve been commenting on regularly (e.g. see Deloitte’s weird definition of “strong employment growth”), is a major part of the reason why Australia’s GDP growth for September quarter came in lower than expected yesterday. The ABS … Continue reading

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Industry groups right to say Qld economy failing to create the number of jobs needed

I am pleased to see that peak industry bodies (e.g. the Property Council of Australia and the Infrastructure Association of Qld) are saying the same thing I have been regarding Queensland’s lacklustre jobs growth, with the Sunday Mail* today reporting: … Continue reading

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Deloitte’s weird definition of “strong employment growth” for Qld

I was surprised when I read Deloitte’s latest commentary on the Queensland economy, as reported by the Courier-Mail on Thursday (Jobless rate hides Qld’s economic success story), because the commentary makes little sense: QUEENSLAND’S economy is performing strongly despite the country’s … Continue reading

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My comments in “Liberal bloodbath” Diplomat article

Brisbane-based writer Anthony Fensom has written an excellent article at The Diplomat titled Liberal Bloodbath Repels Australian Voters in which he quotes me among other commentators: Similarly, economist Gene Tunny said the 2019 result was already a foregone conclusion, despite … Continue reading

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612 ABC Brisbane radio interview on Qld having nation’s highest unemployment rate

Yesterday I had an enjoyable chat with Steve Austin on his 612 ABC Brisbane Drive program about the latest ABS Labour Force estimates, which, as I reported in yesterday’s post, revealed Queensland is the only state with an unemployment rate … Continue reading

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