Category Archives: Mining

FIFO & DIDO workers in Qld gas fields nearly doubled in 2013

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The new data from Queensland Treasury on non-resident – i.e. fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in, drive-out (DIDO) – workers in the Surat Basin illustrate the boom we’re seeing in the gas-field communities out west of Toowoomba on the Darling Downs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

CPD recommends endowment fund – forgets Qld has projected debt of $80 billion

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Centre for Policy Development’s new report All Boom, No Benefit? Why Queensland needs a new economic strategy ignores some important facts about the Queensland economy and contains some half-baked policy recommendations. The report is getting media attention because it … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Mining, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

NQ and Mackay region builders the least optimistic

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I just noticed Master Builders Queensland released its latest survey of industry conditions last week. While it shows a positive outlook on average across all regions, the outlook is only just positive in the North Queensland and Mackay regions (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Mining, North Queensland, Townsville | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Why is training in oil & gas drilling fee-free?

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Government’s blueprint for reform of vocational education and training (VET), Great Skills Real Opportunities, which was released in June last year, goes a long way toward creating a more efficient and responsive VET sector, but falls short in … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Labour market, Mining | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Deloitte forecasts huge drop in resources sector construction jobs

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I noticed the Mackay Daily Mercury (Investment drought to kill resources-boom building jobs) has picked up an interesting new report from the Australian Workplace and Productivity Agency: Resources Sector Skills Needs 2013. The report contains some interesting projections from Deloitte … Continue reading →

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Mining capital spending saved Qld economy from really poor growth in 2012-13

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The 2012-13 State Accounts, released by the ABS on Thursday, confirm that heavy engineering construction, largely by the resources sector, shored up the Queensland economy in 2012-13 and protected it from the adverse impacts of Government spending cuts. This is … Continue reading →

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Reasons to be optimistic Qld will cope with shock from mining investment decline

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Gene Tunny

BIS Shrapnel’s new report on the mining industry appears to pick up the points made at the Energy Skills Queensland conference I attended last week regarding how gas will boom, but the outlook for minerals is much less optimistic (More … Continue reading →

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More CSG-LNG jobs than previously forecast, but minerals job vacancies have plummeted

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday I attended the Energy Skills Queensland (ESQ) Annual Conference at the Royal International Convention Centre at the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane. At the Conference, ESQ released its Queensland CSG to LNG Industry Workforce Plan, which received coverage from ABC … Continue reading →

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Qld Treasurer rightly rejects pessimism about mining industry

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I’m pleased to see Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls has rejected the doom and gloom around the state of the mining industry in Queensland, as reported in the Brisbane Times this morning (Qld mining industry still strong), pointing to strong growth … Continue reading →

Posted in Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Economic impact of mining can be over-stated, according to PC

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The Productivity Commission released a very interesting research note earlier this month titled On input-output tables: Uses and abuses. Input-output tables are the matrices that show how all the industries of the economy are connected to each other – e.g. … Continue reading →

Posted in Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment