Tag Archives: publicservice

Coaldrake integrity inquiry submission

Professor Peter Coaldrake appears to be doing a great job in his Review of culture and accountability in the Queensland public sector, and I’ve been impressed by his findings in his interim report regarding the politicisation of the public service, … Continue reading

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

Qld Budget interview on 4BC with Scott Emerson

I was pleased to speak with 4BC Drive host Scott Emerson yesterday about the 2020-21 Queensland Budget. Among other issues, Scott and I chatted about the Government’s abandonment or, more charitably, nuancing of its fiscal principle around keeping public service … Continue reading

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

LNP costings interview with Scott Emerson on 4BC

The Queensland LNP Opposition released its election costings yesterday, and I spoke with Scott Emerson on his 4BC Drive program about them later that day. You can listen to our conversation from around 54:00 via: The Scott Emerson Drive Show, … Continue reading

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

Qld’s surging public service – clarification of Australian article comments

I’m quoted in today’s Australian article Polls back Labor’s jobs push, and I need to clarify this reported comment: Economist Gene Tunny said that Queensland’s public sector had been stable through the pandemic and that had steadied the state’s job … Continue reading

Posted in Budget | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Catch up with CCIQ Chief Economist on dreadful business conditions & huge budget deficits

Yesterday afternoon I caught up with CCIQ Chief Economist Dr Marcus Smith for a phone interview on the coronavirus-induced recession/mini-depression, and you can listen to the recording here: Highlights include: 3:50 – discussion of forecasts for double-digit unemployment rates in … Continue reading

Posted in Budget, Cairns, Gold Coast, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qld public service freeze – my Courier-Mail comments

Well done to the Courier-Mail’s Steven Wardill for his scoop on the Queensland public service hiring freeze in today’s paper: Qld public service hiring freeze to rein in budget (pay-walled). I spoke with Steven about the hiring freeze yesterday afternoon … Continue reading

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qld Gov’t public service bonus demonstrates ongoing relevance of Beautiful One Day, Broke the Next

The Queensland Government’s $1,250 bonus for public servants, estimated to cost $250 million in total, is being poorly received outside of the public service. Many people consider that public servants are already well remunerated and that the state government still … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Qld economy was goosed up by gov’t spending in final quarter of 2018

Australia’s weak 0.2% GDP growth in December quarter has prompted talk of a “per capita recession”, as our economy has now been growing at a slower rate than the population for two consecutive quarters (see this SMH report). The national … Continue reading

Posted in Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

What I’m expecting from the 2018-19 Qld state budget

This coming Tuesday, 12 June, Queensland Deputy Premier-Treasurer Jackie Trad will deliver her first state budget. It is her best chance to establish her economic credibility. Trad is fortunate the state economy is performing reasonably well, albeit not strongly across … Continue reading

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Are public servants overpaid on average?

In my previous post I commented on the excessive growth of senior Queensland public service positions over the last few years. Let us consider the hypothesis that this growth was related to public servants having significant influence over their own … Continue reading

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