Category Archives: Mining

A longer-term perspective on the CAPEX plunge

In a comment on my post from last Friday, regular Queensland Economy Watch reader Jim pointed out that the plunge in capital expenditure (CAPEX) is simply returning Queensland to more normal rates of investment, as was completely expected. Jim suggested … Continue reading

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Health, aged care & tourism will generate jobs in Qld at the end of the mining boom

At the end of the mining boom, as capital expenditure plummets (chart above) from an elevated level, and ten thousand new jobs expected in the Galilee basin now appear unlikely, it is probably not surprising that some commentators are getting … Continue reading

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Private sector earnings stagnate in Qld at end of the mining boom

New ABS data released yesterday show that average weekly ordinary time earnings in the Queensland private sector fell slightly, by 0.4 per cent, through-the-year to May 2015, no doubt associated with the loss of high-paying jobs in the resources sector … Continue reading

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Curtis Island LNG projects more-or-less doubled heavy construction activity in peak period

About the great American mountain-man Jim Bridger, Johnny Horton sang “That he was making history never once occurred to him.” I wonder if the men and women who have worked on the Curtis Island LNG plants have realised that they … Continue reading

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Qld Treasurer confirms Govt’s immense fiscal challenge with royalties write down of $3 billion

I wasn’t surprised when Treasurer Curtis Pitt today revealed there would be a write down in mining royalties of $3 billion over the Budget forward estimates (i.e. 2015-16 to 2018-19), due to both lower prices and volumes than previously forecast … Continue reading

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Cafe culture & tourism helping Qld endure end of mining boom

May 2015 employment-by-industry data published by the ABS yesterday confirm some points I’ve been making for the last couple of months (see chart above), particularly that Queensland is enduring the shock from the end of the mining boom relatively well, … Continue reading

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Qld economy enduring shock from end of mining boom as well as could be expected

The March quarter National Accounts data released yesterday surprised on the upside with quarterly growth at 0.9 per cent, but as some commentators have noted there remains a downside risk over the next 12-24 months from much lower capital expenditure … Continue reading

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Mining leads fall in private sector capital expenditure – Qld technical recession may extend into 2015

The technical recession Queensland experienced in late 2014 may extend into early 2015 based on new ABS data showing the large drop in mining investment from its extraordinarily high levels has continued into the March quarter of 2015 (see chart … Continue reading

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Residential dwelling investment crucial to re-balancing of Qld economy

Queensland Treasury’s latest set of State Accounts, which have created so much controversy (see my previous post on Qld’s technical recession), show just how extraordinary the private sector investment boom was in Queensland, with investment increasing as a share of … Continue reading

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End of the mining boom – speech notes and slides

In Brisbane today, in the theatre of Morgans Financial Limited, along with Griffith’s Tony Makin and Morgans’ Michael Knox, I spoke on “The end of the mining boom”, at an event organised by Griffith’s APEC Study Centre. My slides are … Continue reading

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