Tag Archives: queensland

Treasury projections suggest Qld Plan regional population target unachievable

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I’ve previously questioned whether the target in the draft Queensland Plan to have half the population living outside South East Queensland is achievable (see Regional infrastructure plan should be based on updated population projections). The latest official State population projections from Queensland … Continue reading →

Posted in Population, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Large fare savings possible from taxi industry deregulation

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Gene Tunny

My friend and colleague Brad Rogers has a great post at his blog on Queensland Taxi Licenses and Drunken Violence. Brad argues: Queensland’s taxi regulations are costing the Brisbane public over $80 million per year and may be contributing to drunken … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Reduce youth unemployment through improved regulation – e.g. of penalty rates, taxis

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Gene Tunny

With overall unemployment creeping up to 6%, unemployment among 15 to 24 year olds, which tends to be naturally higher anyway and ends up even higher when the economy slows, has increased to over 15% and has re-emerged as a … Continue reading →

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

Fiscal restraint impacting Queensland economy

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Gene Tunny

While containing reasonably good news for the national economy, today’s new National Accounts data from the ABS suggest the December quarter of last year was a lacklustre one for the Queensland economy, with the (albeit imperfect) measure of State Final … Continue reading →

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

Residential building approvals have recovered nicely – but some weakness still in regions

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Gene Tunny

It appears Master Builders Queensland was right to report last month that Queensland builders are optimistic (see my post on the report), with today’s new residential building approvals from the ABS showing a strong upward trend nationally and in Queensland … Continue reading →

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

FIFO & DIDO workers in Qld gas fields nearly doubled in 2013

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The new data from Queensland Treasury on non-resident – i.e. fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in, drive-out (DIDO) – workers in the Surat Basin illustrate the boom we’re seeing in the gas-field communities out west of Toowoomba on the Darling Downs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Mining | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Queensland has too many low-performing schools

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Gene Tunny

One major challenge the current Queensland Government faces is the need to reform a school system that historically has had a disproportionate number of low-performing schools. The extent of poor performance among our secondary schools is pretty clear in data … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

CPD recommends endowment fund – forgets Qld has projected debt of $80 billion

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Centre for Policy Development’s new report All Boom, No Benefit? Why Queensland needs a new economic strategy ignores some important facts about the Queensland economy and contains some half-baked policy recommendations. The report is getting media attention because it … Continue reading →

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

Sorry to tell you, QTC, but the labour market is not a lagging indicator

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I’m glad Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) remains optimistic about the economic outlook, even after last week’s discouraging labour force data, but I’m afraid one reason behind its optimism is unfounded. In its Weekly Market and Economics Review sent out via … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

NQ and Mackay region builders the least optimistic

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I just noticed Master Builders Queensland released its latest survey of industry conditions last week. While it shows a positive outlook on average across all regions, the outlook is only just positive in the North Queensland and Mackay regions (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Mining, North Queensland, Townsville | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments