Tag Archives: qld

Lease complications mean asset sales a better option

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Government may be having second thoughts about its decision to lease out rather than sell assets, as it’s facing a lot of tricky (and legitimate) questions on what the lease conditions would be from opponents such as the ETU … Continue reading →

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

Struggling retail sector would benefit from longer trading hours – National Retail Association bid deserves to win

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The National Retail Association bid for extended trading hours deserves support because it would be good for consumers and may provide a boost to a struggling retail sector (see my post from earlier this month: Economic weakness hits Queensland retailers). … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Local government regulatory reform process fails to stop silly heritage listings in Townsville

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Gene Tunny

In its report on cutting red tape last year, the Queensland Competition Authority noted that “the Government will consult with local government in late 2013 on a regulatory reform program for local governments.” This consultation obviously didn’t achieve much, because … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Townsville | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How important is the return of leased out assets in 99 years time in a cost-benefit analysis?

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Premier’s interesting comparison of the proposed leasing out of Queensland Government assets to the long-term lease of Hong Kong, which was eventually returned to China, made me think about how important the eventual return of assets should be in … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Top 10 posts from the first 1,000

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday I posted my 1,000th post, and below are links to the most clicked from the first 1,000. Having grown up in Townsville, and knowing the intense debate the issue causes up North, it didn’t surprise me that a post … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Climate change, Labour market, Townsville | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

4BC interview on hospital cost blowout – Govts need to crunch numbers properly before spending decisions

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I spoke to Ben Davis from 4BC’s Drive program yesterday afternoon about the Auditor-General’s report on the Beattie Government’s decision in 2006 to build three new hospitals, including the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital and new hospitals on the Gold and … Continue reading →

Posted in Health | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Upcoming Economic Society event on rural & remote service delivery

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Gene Tunny

With a relatively high proportion of the population living outside of major cities and towns, in outer regional or remote areas (see chart above based on ABS data), Queensland faces an additional challenge in delivering government services such as health … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Health, Population, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

7.30 Qld interview on asset leases and power prices

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I featured in Eric Tlozek’s excellent story on the proposed leasing out of electricity assets on 7.30 Queensland last night: Government powers up to sell state asset leases I come in at around 3 minutes, 20 seconds, after the Opposition … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Reforming solar cross-subsidy is good policy, but unclear why $3.4 billion should be locked up in Cost of Living Fund

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Government’s apparent plan to end the cross-subsidy from households without solar cells to those with solar cells, and to fund the feed-in tariff through an explicit subsidy, is a sound one (see Brisbane Times coverage Power bills to come … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

ABS funding cuts may have compromised macroeconomic management

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Given the huge revisions to recent labour force data published by the ABS data yesterday, it’s now clear that the ABS is suffering from the impacts of funding cuts in recent years (see this ABC news report), and this has … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments