Tag Archives: australia

PM puts China’s Aussie thermal coal ban in perspective, but $100M+ annual loss to Qld state budget possible

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Prime Minister Scott Morrison did a good job yesterday at putting China’s reported ban on Australian thermal coal into perspective, pointing out Japan is our largest customer for thermal coal, and it takes twice the amount of thermal coal as … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Aussies over-confident after being over-compensated by Gov’t for COVID-recession

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Today we learned that, as Reuters reports, Australia consumer sentiment hits 10-year high (see chart above). This is despite Chinese trade restrictions and the looming insolvency tsunami in the new year and the fiscal cliff in April 2021. Sure, given … Continue reading →

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

QPC highlights NDIS rollout delay in Qld and failure of public administration

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Productivity Commission has written a pretty damning draft report (Inquiry into the NDIS market in Queensland) covering the state government’s rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Queensland, even though the Commission buries the lead and doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Health | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

EV taxes, property taxes, and the need to reset federal financial relations in Australia

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Gene Tunny

It’s good news that, according to the Brisbane Times, Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey has ruled out a special Electric Vehicle tax (at least for now). You may recall I reported on the Australia Institute’s campaign to stop state-levied EV … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Environment, Tax | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Electric Vehicle Tax – Qld shouldn’t follow Victoria and SA in imposing one

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Gene Tunny

The Australia Institute ran an excellent webinar (Stop the Electric Vehicles Tax) this morning opposing the Electric Vehicle Tax announced by Victoria and SA. An EV tax may end up being imposed by other state governments, including NSW’s and Queensland’s, … Continue reading →

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

Thoughts on the border decision and QPC’s productivity reform livestream

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Gene Tunny

First, better late than never I suppose, so I should be thankful the Queensland Government, on 1 December, will finally open up the state to Sydneysiders and let us travel to Sydney without having to endure hotel quarantine when we … Continue reading →

Posted in IR, Macroeconomy, Productivity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Women and the Budget – upcoming Griffith-WEN webinar on Thursday 26 November

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Gene Tunny

This Thursday, Griffith Business School and the Women in Economics Network (WEN) are holding a webinar on Women and the Budget, and I’ve agreed to act as Moderator for the webinar. Here’s the event description from the organisers: The economic … Continue reading →

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Bold claim from Qld Treasurer: more Queenslanders working now than pre-COVID restrictions

Posted on November 21, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick has made a bold claim, which I disagree with, that more Queenslanders are working now than were working pre-COVID. The Treasurer’s claim is based on the October Labour Force data published by the ABS on Thursday, … Continue reading →

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Matt Ridley’s How Innovation Works is recommended reading

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Gene Tunny

This weekend I finished reading Matt Ridley’s excellent How Innovation Works, which makes a compelling case in favour of leaving innovation largely to the free market, rather than having it guided and supported by government. Ridley is a great storyteller … Continue reading →

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Qld economy in big trouble if China follows through with trade threat

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Australian investors appear remarkably optimistic about the prospects for patching up our relationship with China given that, as the Financial Review reported yesterday, ASX up 4.4pc in US election, QE week. I can understand why a new round of Quantitative … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Exports, Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment