Tag Archives: goldcoast

Comments in Courier-Mail on residential construction & First Home Owners’ Grant

I am quoted extensively in John McCarthy’s Courier-Mail article this morning Brisbane house prices showing strong growth while regions are suffering (pay-walled), expressing similar views to those in my post from yesterday. In the Courier-Mail article, I sound more alarmist … Continue reading

Posted in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Housing, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ragnarok in Brissywood

Next week, the Brisbane CBD road closures for the filming of scenes for Thor: Ragnarok will obviously, through the disruption to traffic and local businesses, add to the already large multi-million dollar cost to the Queensland community of hosting the … Continue reading

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Comment in Courier-Mail on volatile Qld jobs data

With the huge volatility in State unemployment rate estimates, demonstrated by the ABS seasonally adjusted estimate of Queensland’s unemployment rate falling from 6.4% in January to 5.6% in February, and the SA rate increasing from 6.8% to 7.7%, the ABS … Continue reading

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Qld economy patchy – SEQ appears fine, but much of rest of Qld struggling

I had a nice chat with Ben Davis on his 4BC Live program yesterday afternoon about the state of Queensland’s economy, a discussion which was inspired by the flurry of press releases that came from the State Government in the … Continue reading

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Qld has three of top five regional areas with most expensive residential lots

The Housing Industry Association released a very interesting note today on median lot prices in capital cities and regional Australia (i.e. non-Capital City Australia): Land price pressures signal policy failure. The data should prompt a number of Queensland Councils to review their … Continue reading

Posted in Gold Coast, Housing, Mackay | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Brisbane to have a denser inner city, but urban sprawl as well

I’ve written before about how residential building development is being concentrated in a few former commercial areas in the inner city and outer suburban areas such as North Lakes and Springfield (Where is residential development occurring in the Brisbane metro … Continue reading

Posted in Housing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gold Coast light rail debacle should serve as a warning to other cities

The Gold Coast light rail project has had a number of significant failures, including major cost blowouts, major disruptions to local businesses during construction, and poor signage that will infuriate tourists who hop off at the Surfers Paradise station when … Continue reading

Posted in Gold Coast, Transport | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

QCA should investigate V8 Supercars funding in industry assistance review

The Townsville V8 Supercars event appears not to have delivered the huge visitor numbers and economic benefits that were once forecast by its organisers, given the announcement of a new joint marketing campaign with other V8 races. The Townsville Bulletin reports (V8 … Continue reading

Posted in Gold Coast, Industry policy, Ipswich, Townsville | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Additional maps on average incomes in Qld

Average wage and salary incomes of residents of mining regions in Queensland rival those of residents in the Western suburbs of Brisbane, according to the ABS’s new small area income data (see maps below for the whole of Queensland and … Continue reading

Posted in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Gold Coast PTs should pay fees to use parks

I noticed in the Gold Coast Bulletin that personal trainers on the GC are outraged the Council will start imposing an annual $200 fee for them to use parks, consistent with councils in Brisbane and elsewhere. It makes sense for … Continue reading

Posted in Gold Coast | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments