Tag Archives: covid-19

Auditor-General exposes deep flaws in Queensland’s governance

Queensland’s Auditor-General is having a big week, with the publication of hard-hitting reports into the latest Queensland Health IT bungle (see today’s Courier-Mail) and the Government’s economic response to COVID-19. The report on the economic response revealed a lack of … Continue reading

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Defence should never have been on the Qld-NSW border in the first place

Earlier this month, I was shocked when I landed in Bundaberg and was greeted by a police officer wanting to check I was a Queensland resident, but I guess I would have been even more shocked if I tried to … Continue reading

Posted in Tourism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qld’s harsh border policy – a conversation with Joe Branigan

The biggest issue in Queensland right now is our harsh border policy, which I discussed earlier today with my good friend and former Treasury colleague Joe Branigan of Tulipwood Economics. Joe is the co-author with Dr Henry Ergas of the … Continue reading

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ABC radio interview on COVID-19 Fiscal and Economic Review

Yesterday afternoon I had a great conversation with Steve Austin on his 612 ABC Brisbane Drive program regarding the state government’s budget update it published on Monday. We discussed the issues I covered in my post Woefully inadequate budget update, … Continue reading

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Upcoming FACCI Federal Budget seminar on 9 October

On Friday 9 October, I’ll be facilitating a video conference for the French-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FACCI) on the 2020 federal budget, which looks to be in poorer shape as each day passes, with the ongoing stage 4 … Continue reading

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Qld Gov’t going for broke in COVID response

As well as confirming Australia is in a deep recession, with a 7% fall in GDP in June quarter, the National Accounts published by the ABS earlier today revealed Queensland state and local governments (mostly the state government) are spending … Continue reading

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Deep recession to be quantified in June qtr National Accounts released tomorrow

Age/SMH Senior Economics Correspondent Shane Wright has written a great summary of the business indicators data released yesterday by the ABS: An economy like 2016 as sales and wages collapse. The business indicators data are pieces of the jigsaw puzzle … Continue reading

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

The Triumvirate’s Stratagem cannot stand – guest post by Joe Branigan

Thanks to my old friend and former Treasury colleague Joe Branigan for this guest post on the Queensland Government’s response to COVID-19. Views expressed are Joe’s and should not necessarily be attributed to me. GT The Triumvirate’s Stratagem cannot stand … Continue reading

Posted in Health, Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mining & Ag have partly shielded several Qld regions from COVID shock

As shown in my post on the latest payroll jobs data from the ABS, the regions which have fared the best in Queensland since the COVID-related economic crisis began in March are Toowoomba and Central Queensland, likely due to the … Continue reading

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Thoughts on the New Normal – latest podcast episode

Regarding a new normal in a post-COVID world, in the June 2020 issue of Monocle magazine, the Editor Tyler Brule wrote: We don’t want a heavy handed ‘new normal.’ We want people to act responsibly but we also want families, … Continue reading

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