Category Archives: Uncategorized

Reduce youth unemployment through improved regulation – e.g. of penalty rates, taxis

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Gene Tunny

With overall unemployment creeping up to 6%, unemployment among 15 to 24 year olds, which tends to be naturally higher anyway and ends up even higher when the economy slows, has increased to over 15% and has re-emerged as a … Continue reading →

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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

Qld Govt should implement cycling inquiry recommendation on helmets

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Gene Tunny

This afternoon’s Brisbane mX newspaper ran a front page story on the struggling CityCycle bike hire scheme: Brisbane’s bike hire scheme has become a “gimmick” for visitors, with only one in four regular riders taking a subscription for longer than … Continue reading →

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Recovery still on hold for Qld building industry, while mining construction work falls

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Gene Tunny

New data from the ABS today on building approvals for August and engineering construction activity for the June quarter confirm economic conditions in Queensland remain below average and we won’t see much of a recovery in the short-term (see charts … Continue reading →

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Queensland doing relatively better than Southern States, but growth still subpar

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Gene Tunny

It’s good that Premier Newman is upbeat about the economy, but I’m less excited about yesterday’s ABS National Accounts figures than he appears to be, based on this morning’s Courier-Mail report: Campbell Newman seizes on ABS data showing Queensland growing … Continue reading →

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NQ worried about NT plan

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill is rightly critical of the Prime Minister’s proposed special economic zone in the Northern Territory, in which a lower rate of company tax would apply. As reported in the Townsville Bulletin this morning (Economic zone plan … Continue reading →

Posted in North Queensland, Tax, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Greater uncertainty over 2013-14 economic outlook

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The last 24 hours have seen the release of a sobering NAB report on its monthly business survey (Business conditions collapse in June, retail worst hit, says NAB) and the latest IMF World Economic Outlook, which has slightly downgraded China’s … Continue reading →

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Toowoomba very reliant on education sector – risk from higher ed reform

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Gene Tunny

An article in the Toowoomba Chronicle has reminded me just how significant the University of Southern Queensland has been to Toowoomba’s economic development and prosperity, and the USQ Vice-Chancellor is certainly right to be concerned about potential higher education policy … Continue reading →

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Odd that Treasury is proposing barrier to entry for financial advisers

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Gene Tunny

My former colleagues at the Commonwealth Treasury can generally be relied upon to defend the free market, but occasionally they fail to do so, as appears to be the case with new legislation relating to financial planners reported on by … Continue reading →

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Could Victorian manufacturing job losses lead to an increase in interstate migration to Qld?

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Gene Tunny

In a post last Thursday in response to the announced Ford plant closures, Mark Beath at Loose Change (Car crash!) wondered whether job losses in Victoria could lead to a revival of interstate migration to Queensland from Victoria, which is … Continue reading →

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