Tag Archives: qld

Good news for the economy as Qld businesses increase investment in machinery & equipment

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Despite having some weak regional economies, particularly in the Townsville and Queensland outback regions, the State economy overall recorded reasonably healthy growth in State Final Demand in the June quarter of 0.7 percent in seasonally adjusted terms. This is very … Continue reading →

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

Be careful what you wish for on infrastructure spending

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The Brisbane Times this morning draws attention to the relatively low level of heavy or engineering construction activity (e.g. on roads, bridges, dams, etc) being undertaken for the public sector in Queensland at the moment, based on analysis by RPS’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Upcoming CIS Liberty & Society weekend in Melbourne

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The Centre for Independent Studies sent a reminder note yesterday regarding its upcoming Liberty & Society weekend conference in Melbourne on October 14-16. This is a great opportunity for university students and recent graduates to have fun chatting about important … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Gig economy and baby boomers easing into retirement would partly explain why jobs growth mostly part-time

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The July labour force data released by the ABS yesterday were good news for Australia and Queensland, with the unemployment rate falling in seasonally adjusted terms for both Australia, from 5.8% to 5.7%, and for Queensland, from 6.4% to 6.1%. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Driverless cars and congestion charging up for discussion at IAQ Qld Infrastructure Summit 2016

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The well-known fatal crash involving a self-driving Tesla car and a lorry suggests a completely driverless future is some time away, but nonetheless regulators and businesses need to start preparing for it. Hence it is great to see driverless cars … Continue reading →

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

Fantastic news about Uber legalisation – now Government needs to resist calls for compensation of taxi industry

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Gene Tunny

It is fantastic news that the Queensland Government will, finally, legalise Uber, as reported in both the Courier-Mail and Brisbane Times this morning, although the option the Government apparently prefers is somewhat less than full deregulation, as taxis will continue … Continue reading →

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

International film productions such as Thor: Ragnarok unworthy of Qld taxpayer support

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Thor: Ragnarok, now filming on the Gold Coast, and which is supposedly receiving Queensland taxpayer support of $3 million (see my post from October last year), is delivering much lower benefits to locals than may have been expected, as reported … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Being unpredictable helps guard against collusion: a lesson from the 2016 Colin Clark Lecture

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Professor Leslie Marx of Duke University delivered the 2016 Colin Clark Lecture last Tuesday morning at Customs House in Brisbane on how to defend against potential collusion by suppliers. In industries with a small number of players who can readily … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

HILDA reveals very wealthy Canberra households, while Queenslanders much less wealthy

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The relatively high salaries of Canberra public servants are allowing them to build up healthy asset portfolios, while average Queenslanders are much less wealthy, according to the University of Melbourne’s Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Australia Survey, the latest report … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Labour market, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Judith Sloan right to criticise over-reliance on renewable energy

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Judith Sloan, Contributing Economics Editor to the Australian, has a brilliant op-ed in the paper today (see Energy price reveals folly of renewables) criticising policies targeting renewable energy, following the wholesale electricity price spike that occurred in South Australia last … Continue reading →

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