Tag Archives: qld

Lack of consumer confidence reflected in new vehicle sales – but trend towards SUVs continues

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Anxious consumers and businesses remained reluctant to purchase new motor vehicles in May, with new vehicle sales 2.1% lower than in April and 4.3% lower than in May 2013 (see ABS summary). Both vehicles for personal and business use appear … Continue reading →

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

Qld Govt recognises importance of coal to economy and budget

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Reading the Courier-Mail story today about how the Government looks set to favour coal miners over farmers in Central Queensland,  I recalled a chart my friend and colleague Brad Rogers once showed me of the contributions made by different commodities … Continue reading →

Posted in Mining | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

North Qld struggling to recover – Cairns looking slightly better, but not Townsville yet

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Gene Tunny

North and Far North Queensland have had lacklustre economies in the years since the financial crisis, with Cairns especially having suffered from the combined impact of the tourism downturn and an over-supply of properties due to a pre-financial crisis construction … Continue reading →

Posted in Cairns, Townsville | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tourism & Events Qld deserved funding cut – no turnaround in share of international visitors

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I was pleased to see the Government cut funding to Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) in the State Budget earlier this week (Tourism and Events Queensland budget slashed by $4.9m), because I’ve always doubted the value of its promotion activities, … Continue reading →

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

Government should just sell Energex, Ergon & Powerlink

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Government’s interesting proposition for private sector participation in Energex, Ergon and Powerlink, which raises the bulk of the $30-35 billion under the Strong Choices plan, should be attractive to investors because the businesses have reasonably reliable revenue streams they … Continue reading →

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

Overall a good Budget, but earmarking sales proceeds for infrastructure funds undesirable

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Budget released yesterday is a sound plan to reduce Queensland’s large State debt and to set us on a path to eventually reclaiming our AAA credit rating. My old friend and former Treasury colleague Joe Branigan has a … Continue reading →

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

Queensland Treasurer will deliver necessary though unpopular Budget

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Today the Queensland Treasurer will deliver a State Budget that is necessary, but which is likely to be unpopular. It is necessary because getting State debt under control and restoring our AAA credit rating needs to be done now, to reduce … Continue reading →

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

Comment on Nine News about desirability of asset sales in Qld Budget

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I was pleased to run into Katherine Feeney from Nine News on Boundary St, West End this afternoon. She was gauging community views on the upcoming Queensland Budget and I made a comment to her on the desirability of asset sales: … Continue reading →

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

7.30 Qld interview on asset sales

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Last week, Maria Hatzakis interviewed me for the Queensland edition of the 7.30 Report, which aired on Friday night: Privatisation push as power prices surge again In understanding why the sale of electricity assets is desirable, the Productivity Commission’s Electricity … Continue reading →

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

Uber confusion – Premier was right to back Uber and support deregulated taxi industry

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I’m a bit confused about the Queensland Government’s position on the Uber ridesharing service, which has the potential to massively disrupt the highly regulated taxi industry. Taxi industry regulations, particularly the restricted number of licences, result in economic rents (i.e. super … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment