Category Archives: Macroeconomy

Speech to University of the Third Age Redlands on the Australian Economy

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Gene Tunny

This morning I addressed the University of the Third Age Redlands at the Donald Simpson Centre, Cleveland on the topic of The Australian Economy: Where we’ve come from, where we’re going. My prepared remarks are reproduced below. I varied the … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, IR, Labour market, Macroeconomy, Migration, Mining, Population, Tax, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Good employment outlook for Qld, but still waiting for strong economic recovery

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Steve Austin had a good chat with Nick Behrens from CCIQ yesterday morning on 612 ABC Brisbane, covering the economic outlook for Queensland and the Queensland Plan (What the job market in Queensland will look like in the future). Nick … Continue reading →

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Lacklustre labour market gives added urgency to regulatory reforms

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Job vacancies data released by the ABS yesterday suggest the Queensland labour market will remain relatively weak over the next few months at least (see chart above). The data are also consistent with Queensland Treasury’s forecast in the Budget that … Continue reading →

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Lack of consumer confidence reflected in new vehicle sales – but trend towards SUVs continues

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Anxious consumers and businesses remained reluctant to purchase new motor vehicles in May, with new vehicle sales 2.1% lower than in April and 4.3% lower than in May 2013 (see ABS summary). Both vehicles for personal and business use appear … Continue reading →

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Qld Budget needs to reflect challenging conditions – asset sales good option to cut debt

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The March quarter private capital spending figures released today by the ABS confirm that Treasury was right to make conservative, sub-par growth forecasts in developing the Federal Budget. Queensland Treasury will have to do the same in the Queensland Budget, … Continue reading →

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Consumers and businesses lacking confidence – growth may be even more sub-par

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday’s ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence figures show a slump in consumer sentiment, possibly caused by last week’s Federal Budget (see MacroBusiness’s story The epic crash in consumer confidence). The ANZ-Roy Morgan media release notes: ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell a further … Continue reading →

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Sub-par growth to continue as mining investment falls and govts restrain spending

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Head of Economic Analysis, Dr Jonathan Kearns, gave an informative presentation this morning on current economic conditions at an Economic Society of Australia (Qld branch) breakfast at the Brisbane Polo Club. The outlook for at … Continue reading →

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Economics: Keeping the World in Business – speech to high school students at UQ

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Below is the prepared text of a talk I gave to high school students attending the Careers that Shape the World day at the University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, on Wednesday, 23 April 2014. I varied the talk significantly … Continue reading →

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Qld Treasury needs to explain logic of asset sales much more clearly

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Gene Tunny

In her terrific book On Speaking Well, former Presidential Speech Writer Peggy Noonan argues convincingly that people ultimately are moved by logic, and you shouldn’t underestimate the intelligence of your audience. She writes: A good case well argued and well … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Macroeconomy, Queensland Government, Transport | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fiscal restraint impacting Queensland economy

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Gene Tunny

While containing reasonably good news for the national economy, today’s new National Accounts data from the ABS suggest the December quarter of last year was a lacklustre one for the Queensland economy, with the (albeit imperfect) measure of State Final … Continue reading →

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