Tag Archives: covid-19

How many Australians coped with COVID stress: alcohol

Watching Catherine McGregor chatting with psychologist Dr Tanveer Ahmed on Sky Australia (People will have to ‘rethink’ New Year goals as a result of COVID-19 uncertainty), I remembered that many of my friends have been coping with COVID-related stress by … Continue reading

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Christmas Eve post-6pm public holiday should have been repealed in this year of COVID

A prominent Brisbane man about town and long-time QEW reader has reminded me that last year I posted on the ridiculous Christmas Eve half-day public holiday, and he said that it was particularly costly in this year of COVID. Here’s … Continue reading

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Retail trade | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bad news for Qld tourism as border restrictions being re-imposed

Just a few weeks ago, the Queensland Premier was telling Sydneysiders she wants them to come to Queensland, but now they need a COVID test on arrival and need to isolate until they’re cleared, as the state tightens the border … Continue reading

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

Money and cryptocurrency – my latest podcast episode

When I recorded the latest episode of my Economics Explored podcast last Friday afternoon, the price of one Bitcoin was a bit above US$18,000 after having failed to get beyond US$20,000 in the previous weeks. In my chat with my … Continue reading

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

By “significant borrowings” Treasurer Dick means $10B-15B of additional debt, at least

I raised my eyebrows when I read Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick’s acknowledgement to the media today that there would be new “significant borrowings” in the forthcoming 2020-21 state budget (see the Courier-Mail report). Describing the additional borrowings to be revealed … Continue reading

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

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

Coal price crash is bad news for the state budget and future capital investment

Last Friday, John McCarthy at In Queensland reported Budget impacts loom as coal prices plunge to four year lows. Yes, recent falls in the coking coal price to around $US100/t for coking coal must be causing anxiety in Queensland Treasury, … Continue reading

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

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

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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JobMaker appears poorly targeted – great analysis from ex-Senator John Black

Former Queensland Labor Senator and Executive Chairman of Education Geographics John Black has a great article on his website arguing We told you so…JobMaker misses the real target. Recall that JobMaker is the federal government’s hiring credit for newly engaged … Continue reading

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