Category Archives: Uncategorized

Workforce participation drops as Qld economy under-performs

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Far North Queensland-based economist Pete Faulkner published a great analysis of the ABS labour force estimates for May on his blog yesterday (Jobs data in Qld is poor again): Unfortunately the picture in Queensland continues to be a weaker one. … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Qld Budget includes unbelievably low expenditure growth forecasts

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Gene Tunny

As the Queensland Budget bad news (revenue write-downs, super raids, etc) had already been released by the Government, there was not much to get excited about yesterday afternoon, or so I thought. Then I had a look at the Government’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Health, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Qld Government needs to avoid costly inter-state bidding wars

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Gene Tunny

In the 2016-17 Queensland Budget being handed down today, among other measures, the State Government will allocate $40 million to “aggressively” attract businesses to the State, no doubt through a combination of payroll tax concessions, grants and similar financial incentives … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Cost of bad regulation increased by excessive enforcement against Uber drivers & riders

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Gene Tunny

When the Queensland Government announced its personalised transport review, I hoped that Transport and Main Roads (TMR) would turn a blind eye to Uber. It seemed obvious the Government would eventually legalise Uber, so why continue to deny consumers and … Continue reading →

Posted in Transport, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Guest post: Why are NSW mining regions enduring the mining downturn better than Qld regions?

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Today I am delighted to publish a guest post from my NSW-based friend and fellow economist Alistair Robson.  Why are NSW mining regions enduring the mining downturn better than Qld regions? by Dr Alistair Robson Despite the Sydney-centric focus on … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

My comments in today’s Courier-Mail on $3bn Qld revenue write-down

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday’s announcement that the Queensland Budget will suffer a further $3 billion in revenue write-downs confirmed what I have been saying for a while now about Queensland’s under-performing economy. I am quoted in today’s Courier-Mail (pay-walled, sorry) noting that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Good start for Public Transport Review Committee: scrapping free Go Card trips

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Gene Tunny

I was pleased to read that Queensland’s Public Transport Review Committee has recommended scrapping free Go Card trips that commuters have been getting after nine trips, and that this recommendation will be adopted in the upcoming State Budget, saving the … Continue reading →

Posted in Transport, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Container deposit scheme very likely a costly bad idea

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Regrettably, there is now a bipartisan commitment in Queensland to what is very likely a costly bad policy, with the Opposition announcing its support for a container deposit scheme, otherwise known as a “cash for cans” scheme (see the Brisbane … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Upcoming Colin Clark lecture on defending against collusion by suppliers

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Australia has had some notorious cases of suppliers colluding with each other to fix prices, such as the SEQ pre-mixed concrete cartel, among Pioneer, Boral and CSR in the early 1990s, and the Visy and Amcor cardboard box cartel in … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

OECD right to recommend “Close vigilance on housing-market developments is still required”

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Gene Tunny

I was not surprised to learn yesterday that the OECD remains concerned about Australia’s housing market, which has shown signs of over-heating, particularly in Sydney, although the OECD did note that there are “receding risks from the housing boom” (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments