Tag Archives: productivitycommission

Time for a Sensible Debate on Broadening the GST Net – Guest post from Michael Willis

Posted on February 22, 2015 by

Last week, I spoke with Ben Davis from 4BC about broadening the GST (see 4BC interview on KPMG’s analysis of GST increase for CPA Australia). Our discussion was pretty high-level, and there were many detailed issues we could have discussed … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Education, Tax | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Productivity Commission has scope to consider student visa rorts

Posted on November 21, 2014 by

One of my loyal readers often says to me that “Australians love a good rort”, and indeed there are several government policies and programs that allow rorting to various degrees. So I’m pleased that the fiercely independent Productivity Commission is … Continue reading →

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

PC natural disaster funding recommendations could cost Qld over a billion

Posted on October 2, 2014 by

The Productivity Commission has injected a huge dose of economic rationalism into its recent draft report on natural disaster funding, which contains a recommendation to cut future Commonwealth support from 75% to 50% of the repair bill – a recommendation … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Cyclones, Floods | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Qld tourism continues to under-perform

Posted on September 11, 2014 by

Evidence continues to mount on the failure of Queensland’ tourism promotion policies, which I’ve commented on before (TEQ deserved funding cut – no turnaround in share of international visitors). New Tourism Research Australia data shows that, while domestic tourism (Australians … Continue reading →

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Illogical to reject Uber over safety concerns

Posted on June 23, 2014 by

It’s disappointing the Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson has been swayed by the taxi industry’s argument that safety regulations and supply restrictions (i.e. a limited number of taxi licences) are both needed to ensure passenger safety (Brisbane no closer to … Continue reading →

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

Minimum wage reduces retail jobs available for young people

Posted on June 12, 2014 by

Walking around the newly renovated Indooroopilly Shoppingtown in Brisbane’s western suburbs recently, I was struck by how many high-end clothing and jewellery stores there now are in the centre. Partly this would be because high-end shops would be more likely … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Retail trade | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Large fare savings possible from taxi industry deregulation

Posted on March 10, 2014 by

My friend and colleague Brad Rogers has a great post at his blog on Queensland Taxi Licenses and Drunken Violence. Brad argues: Queensland’s taxi regulations are costing the Brisbane public over $80 million per year and may be contributing to drunken … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Reduce youth unemployment through improved regulation – e.g. of penalty rates, taxis

Posted on March 5, 2014 by

With overall unemployment creeping up to 6%, unemployment among 15 to 24 year olds, which tends to be naturally higher anyway and ends up even higher when the economy slows, has increased to over 15% and has re-emerged as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Scope to cut Qld Government industry assistance

Posted on February 13, 2014 by

Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls did a good job of dampening expectations for this year’s Queensland Budget yesterday: Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls says there will be no over-spending in the last budget before the election While the Government is rightly investigating … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Tourism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Productivity Commission study will highlight stamp duty impact on labour market

Posted on July 12, 2013 by

The Productivity Commission yesterday released the issues paper for its Geographic Labour Mobility study, a study which I expect will highlight the adverse impact of stamp duty on the labour market. Stamp duty on property transactions, which significantly increases the … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Migration | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment