Tag Archives: jobs

The indicators look great, but the recovery is very uneven across the economy

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Gene Tunny

In the vicinity of my office at the Johnson Hotel on Boundary St, Spring Hill, I see the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on the economy. The hotel restaurant-cafe Tumbling Stone hasn’t reopened since it shut in March last year, … Continue reading →

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Christmas Eve post-6pm public holiday should have been repealed in this year of COVID

Posted on December 28, 2020 by Gene Tunny

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 →

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Qld Treasurer was premature in claiming recovery to pre-COVID jobs level

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Last month, I dissected the Queensland Treasurer’s bold claim that more Queenslanders are working now than were working pre-COVID (check out my 21 November post). I thought it was a bold claim given a) the substantial sampling error at the … Continue reading →

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Special deals can be bad deals for Government – my comments in today’s Courier-Mail re. Maryborough trains contract

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Government is facing big questions over the closeness of two prominent lobbyists to the highest levels of government in the state (e.g. see this Brisbane Times report). I don’t necessarily have a problem with lobbyists, so long as: … 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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JobMaker appears poorly targeted – great analysis from ex-Senator John Black

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Gene Tunny

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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Minimum wages and employment podcast discussion

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Apart from Joe Biden winning the US Presidency and the Democratic Party otherwise under-performing, in my view, the major news coming out of last week’s elections in the US was Florida voting to increase its minimum wage to $15/hour by … Continue reading →

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Qld has highest unemployment rate, but we’ve actually coped with COVID-shock better than most states

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Queensland once again has the highest unemployment rate in Australia (7.7% compared with a national average of 6.9%), as revealed by the September Labour Force Survey data released by the ABS yesterday, but we need to be careful in jumping … Continue reading →

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Campaigning pollies recognise importance of resources sector to Qld economy

Posted on October 10, 2020 by Gene Tunny

The Guardian Australia’s Queensland correspondent Ben Smee has a nice summary of our Premier’s first week of election campaigning in his article on the Queensland paradox, whereby politicians have to appeal to voters in both Townsville and Toowong: The premier, … Continue reading →

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Red tape and regulation – CIS On Liberty podcast

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday I spoke with Associate Professor Salvatore Babones from Sydney Uni on my forthcoming Centre for Independent Studies Policy Paper Rationalising Regulation. You can watch our conversation on YouTube via the player below. Thanks to those readers who I know … Continue reading →

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