Category Archives: Uncategorized

Economic pain continues for Townsville

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Gene Tunny

With the nickel refinery at Yabulu outside Townsville now in administration, following the sacking of hundreds of workers last week, Townsville residents are right to be very concerned about the economic impact of a possible refinery shutdown, and the loss … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Townsville, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Penalty rates reform should be considered as way to reduce youth unemployment

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Gene Tunny

New labour force data from the ABS yesterday showed that Queensland ended 2015 with solid employment growth, and with the unemployment rate falling slightly further to 5.8 per cent, as the Queensland economy remains resilient at the end of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Top 10 Australian economists of all time

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Recently, while reading Stuart Macintyre’s Australia’s Boldest Experiment and Frank Moorhouse’s Edith trilogy, it repeatedly occurred to me that Australia has been home to some extraordinary economists who have made major contributions to economic thought and policy making. Here is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Unit approvals plummet in rest of Aus. with Qld likely to follow

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The Brisbane Times reported the other day that Brisbane renters were being offered inducements such as iPads, suggesting that supply growth has got ahead of demand growth in Brisbane recently. This should reduce the enthusiasm of investors for the Brisbane … Continue reading →

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

BOQ’s Peter Deans to give ESA Qld seminar on risk management in financial services

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Banks play an important role in modern economies: looking after people’s money, facilitating transactions, and providing credit that gives economies momentum but which can also impart volatility—e.g. when too rapid credit growth inflates housing or commercial property bubbles. Banks are … Continue reading →

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How the Qld economy performed over 2015

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In 2015, the Queensland economy proved itself resilient to the end of the mining boom, and recovered from the apparent downturn, a so-called technical recession, at the end of 2014. Even though the economy is proving resilient, growth is at … Continue reading →

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

Holiday reading

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Recently I have been reading a variety of interesting books, including Digital Gold: The Untold Story of Bitcoin by New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper, and the Edith trilogy by eminent Australian author Frank Moorhouse. Digital Gold tells the story … Continue reading →

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Qld currency was model for Australian currency

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Last month, former UQ Economics lecturer Dr Jon Stanford published a very interesting paper in the Queensland History Journal titled Queensland’s Own Money, 1893-1910: Model for the Australian Note Issue (paywalled unfortunately). Jon discusses the financial crisis of the early … Continue reading →

Posted in Queensland Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Merger savings good if they occur, but debt shuffle dubious

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Gene Tunny

I am very flattered the Courier-Mail has a story about me this morning with the title on its website of The man who could clear Qld’s deficit: THE forecast deficit of $1.5 billion could be overcome by courageous decisions made … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

QCA and Premier’s Department have shown where Government can find budget savings

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The need for difficult decisions to repair Queensland’s Budget is reinforced by news that, due to the drop in coal prices and a slower economy, revenue will be further written down by $1.5 billion over the next four years. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Transport, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments