Category Archives: Transport

Upcoming Young Economists Coffee Connections on taxi regulations and Uber

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Ian Harper’s Competition Policy Review has set a big agenda for the next, long-overdue wave of micro-economic reform in Australia, with recommendations calling for substantial deregulation of retail trading hours, pharmacies, liquor sales, imports of books and second-hand cars, and … Continue reading →

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Grattan book City Limits highlights problems with current planning and transport policies

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Jane Frances-Kelly and Paul Donegan, formerly and currently of the Grattan Institute respectively, had an excellent book published earlier this month called City Limits, which argues strongly for cutting red tape from town planning processes, introducing congestion charging for roads, … Continue reading →

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Upcoming event on Steel on Steel – inside story of privatisation of QR’s freight arm

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In a post earlier this year, I discussed Stephen Baines’s excellent insider’s account of the privatisation of Queensland Rail’s freight arm, Steel on Steel. Not coincidentally, the Economic Society of Australia’s Queensland branch, of which I’m Deputy Secretary, has arranged … Continue reading →

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No tears for BaT tunnel – it most likely didn’t stack up

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Whichever party forms government in Queensland, the Bus and Train (BaT) tunnel project is no more, as reported by the Brisbane Times (BaT tunnel plans scrapped). I was always skeptical about the economic case for the project, and was very … Continue reading →

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QR-Aurizon experience shows benefits of privatisation – Steel on Steel is recommended reading

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Gene Tunny

If you’re interested in the issue of privatisation, I recommend you read a new book, Steel on Steel, published by UQ Press, on the QR float from Aurizon insider Stephen Baines. The book contains an excellent description of the political … Continue reading →

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Reflections on Gough Whitlam

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I recall with great sentiment now, after news of the death of former PM Gough Whitlam today, that Gough gave an excellent after dinner speech at the UQ Law Ball at the Hilton Hotel in Brisbane in 1996. The former … Continue reading →

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Time for Qld Govt to reconsider $5bn BaT Tunnel – my submission to the EIS process

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Gene Tunny

It’s now time for the Queensland Government to consider public submissions on the underground Bus and Train (BaT) tunnel project, after the consultation period on the Environmental Impact Statement closed today. I took the opportunity to make a submission, extending … Continue reading →

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Vehicle sales affected by weak consumer confidence & Gen Y habits

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Gene Tunny

New motor vehicle sales in Queensland in August were almost 9% lower than in August 2013, according to ABS data released yesterday. There are at least three contributing factors: persistently weak consumer confidence (see Consumer sentiment slumps as budget worries … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Housing, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

$5 billion Bus and Train Tunnel has unimpressive benefit-cost ratio

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Bus and Train (BaT) Tunnel from Dutton Park to Spring Hill is out for comment, and I’m rather unimpressed by the benefit-cost ratio, estimated by Deloitte at 1.16. That is, benefits are estimated … Continue reading →

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TransLink survey missing an option – reduce public transport subsidy

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The TransLink survey on whether carbon tax savings of $30 million should be used to reduce fares or provide more services (see below) is missing an important option: keep fares and services the same, and reduce the massive subsidy to … Continue reading →

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