Tag Archives: qld

Qld doing poorly at attracting interstate visitors (as well as international visitors)

According to new National Visitor Survey data, Queensland is doing poorly at attracting interstate visitors, compounding the difficulties faced by our tourism sector, which isn’t seeing growth in international visitors (see my post from Monday, International visitor numbers increasing – but … Continue reading

Posted in Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

International visitor numbers increasing – but Qld doing poorly in attracting them

Pete Faulkner has a good post today on the new ABS overseas arrivals and departures data for May 2014: Arrivals hit new highs as China continues to grow. While arrivals to Australia hit new highs, Queensland doesn’t appear to be … Continue reading

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

Public benefits of BIFF and BAPFF questionable

With pressing needs in health and education, it seems obvious to me that there is little public benefit from supporting film festivals, whether in the form of the former Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) or its replacement, the Brisbane Asia … Continue reading

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

Government right to worry about State credit rating, not that of generators

I’m underwhelmed by a report in the Brisbane Times that the credit ratings of Queensland Government-owned power generators CS Energy and Stanwell will drop if they are privatised: Credit ratings agency Fitch has given the Electrical Trades Union its latest ammunition in … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Government should wait for QCA Report before committing to new industry assistance

It’s unfortunate the Queensland Government has entered into a thirty year deal with the Tatts Group while the QCA review of industry assistance is underway, a review which might be informative on the relative costs and benefits of supporting the … Continue reading

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

Lacklustre labour market gives added urgency to regulatory reforms

Job vacancies data released by the ABS yesterday suggest the Queensland labour market will remain relatively weak over the next few months at least (see chart above). The data are also consistent with Queensland Treasury’s forecast in the Budget that … Continue reading

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

Privatisation debate continues

It’s unsurprising that former Queensland Treasury supremo Sir Leo Hielscher supports asset sales (as reported in the Brisbane Times today), given that as one-time head of the Treasury Corporation he was very concerned with actually finding the cash to pay the bills … Continue reading

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

Health, fitness and software publishing are promising sectors for new Qld businesses

Over the year to June 2013, which saw a decline in total business numbers according to ABS Business Counts data, some Queensland industry sectors nonetheless saw growth in business numbers, particularly health, fitness and software publishing (see chart below based … Continue reading

Posted in Health | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Illogical to reject Uber over safety concerns

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

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Interstate migration to Qld remains low – overall gain, but net loss to Victoria continues

The new population data released by the ABS yesterday (see the Queensland Treasury brief) show interstate migration – a major source of growth in the 1990s and early 2000s – continues to make only a small contribution to Queensland’s population … Continue reading

Posted in Migration, Population | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments