Tag Archives: qao

Qld CHO’s border advice kept secret – massive failure of governance, record keeping, and transparency

American entrepreneur and podcaster Tim Ferriss has observed that writing can sharpen your thinking. Putting things down on paper, you’re more likely to avoid sloppy thinking and illogical arguments, and you will have to think more carefully about your assumptions, … Continue reading

Posted in Health | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Qld Audit Office should have recommended council amalgamations

The Queensland Audit Office’s Local government 2020 Audit Report has identified that 25 Queensland local governments, around one-third of the total, “are at a high risk of not being financially sustainable.” As the QAO hints on pages 21 to 22, … Continue reading

Posted in Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Qld state finances chat with ABC’s Steve Austin & QEAS’s Nick Behrens

Fellow Queensland economist Nick Behrens and I sat down with 612 ABC Brisbane’s Steve Austin to chat about the latest report from the Auditor-General on Queensland’s state finances. Of course, COVID is the big story since March last year, but, … Continue reading

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

My takeaways from QAO Energy Report: Qld Gov’t should have offloaded energy assets years ago and NEM is dysfunctional

The Queensland Audit Office’s Energy 2020 Financial Report has been making news (e.g. in the Brisbane Times), although not for the same reasons I think it’s important. It demonstrates, to me at least, that Queenslanders are worse off because the … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Queensland Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Auditor-General exposes deep flaws in Queensland’s governance

Queensland’s Auditor-General is having a big week, with the publication of hard-hitting reports into the latest Queensland Health IT bungle (see today’s Courier-Mail) and the Government’s economic response to COVID-19. The report on the economic response revealed a lack of … Continue reading

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

Huge financial sustainability challenges for Qld’s remote Indigenous councils

Queensland’s remote Indigenous councils are facing huge financial sustainability challenges, with the councils typically running large operating deficits, averaging nearly 20 percent of revenue, and running down their asset base to survive (see figure below), according to the Queensland Audit … Continue reading

Posted in North Queensland, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Qld Audit Office identifies risks to energy businesses from State debt reshuffle

In a report published today on Queensland’s government-owned energy businesses, the Queensland Audit Office has flagged risks associated with the Government’s debt reshuffle (on the debt reshuffle, see this QEW post from December last year). Here is the relevant extract … Continue reading

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

Qld Audit Office gives scathing assessment of Government procurement

The Queensland Audit Office’s first report for the 2016-17 financial year is a scathing assessment of Government procurement practices, an assessment which should spur the State Treasury into action. After all, it is proverbial that, if you look after the … Continue reading

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment