Tag Archives: commonwealth

Qld-Commonwealth argy bargy over dam funding & vertical fiscal imbalance

Posted on October 16, 2019 by

The argy bargy over dam funding between the federal and state government reported by the Courier-Mail (State accuses feds of holding out on dam money) earlier this week is yet another illustration of a big problem in our federation: vertical … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Tax, Uncategorized, Water | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ABC radio interview on population growth & State income tax proposal

Posted on March 30, 2016 by

I had an enjoyable chat with Steve Austin on 612 ABC Brisbane radio this morning regarding two topics, Queensland’s underwhelming population growth rate and the State income tax proposal from the Commonwealth Government: Fewer people moving interstate to Queensland The … Continue reading →

Posted in Migration, Population, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Could the Commonwealth Treasury please send me my $5,000, rather than sending it to George St?

Posted on August 1, 2015 by

Queensland Treasury has produced an absolutely cracking set of post-Budget presentation slides, which it has kindly shared with the Economic Society of Australia (QLD), of which I’m the Secretary. The slide deck contains some excellent facts and charts on vertical … Continue reading →

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

Lessons from John Howard’s GST reform suggest current tax reform process will most likely fail

Posted on July 23, 2015 by

At a panel discussion on tax reform in Brisbane last night, there were some important insights for the current taxation debate made by former PM John Howard’s economic adviser Peter Crone, Australian newspaper contributing editor Professor Judith Sloan, and Griffith’s … Continue reading →

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Qld Govt faces big budgetary challenges from unreliable revenues and soaring health costs

Posted on March 10, 2015 by

In yesterday’s post I noted that the Queensland Government has become increasingly reliant on volatile royalties revenue, and that its major revenue sources of Commonwealth grants and taxation revenue have been growing significantly slower than expenses in recent years. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Health, Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Budget blowout highlights risk of permanent deficits without major spending cuts

Posted on December 15, 2014 by

With today’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook expected to reveal a blowout in this year’s budget deficit from around $30 billion to $35-40 billion, the Commonwealth Government is right to be reviewing childcare benefits and the proposed paid parental leave … Continue reading →

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

Budget repair challenge means Govt should reject calls to assist Holden and Qantas

Posted on December 10, 2013 by

I spoke with Pat Hession on ABC North Queensland radio yesterday afternoon on the removal of the Commonwealth Government’s debt ceiling, effectively its “credit card limit” as Pat described it. I made the following points: I’m disappointed the debt ceiling … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Industry policy, Tax | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Commonwealth should give up student target – big savings possible from higher ed reform

Posted on July 2, 2013 by

The Commonwealth is projected to spend over $10 billion on higher education by 2016-17 according to the 2013-14 Budget papers (see chart above). Hence it’s unsurprising the Government is looking at savings in this area, as reported in the Australian … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Toowoomba, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment