2019 Federal Budget: unpacking the economics and politics for Queensland and Australia - Brisbane

Taking place a week after the federal budget (and on the cusp of a federal election), this State of Affairs event asked what does it all mean? Will the budget finally get to surplus and does it matter? What will be the longer-term economic implications for Queensland and the nation? And what impact might it have on the imminent federal election? Our panel of experts shared their analysis and insights.

Speakers

Sarah Amos is a Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia’s Economics and Policy group in Brisbane. As an economist and public policy specialist, Sarah’s expertise is in government and public policy strategy, and she has spent over 15 years working in and for governments at all levels to drive better outcomes in a range of public policy areas that directly impact on the lives of Australians. Sarah was the lead author for a range of thought leadership pieces developed by PwC regarding the opportunity for tax reform in Australia, including Protecting our prosperity:How do we fix a tax system? andWhy we need to talk about tax. She also developed PwC’s submission to the Australian Government’s Tax Discussion Paper, Re: Think, Better tax system, Better Australiaand she continues to actively contribute to this area of policy through engagement with governments and industry more broadly.

Gene Tunny is the Director of Adept Economics, a Brisbane-based consultancy specialising in economic modelling and cost-benefit analysis. He is a current Vice-President of the Economic Society of Australia (Queensland) and a Director of Early Childhood Intervention Australia. Gene is a former Australian Treasury official with experience in budget, industry and macroeconomic policy advice and development. From time-to-time he has lectured in economics at the University of Queensland and has also delivered courses to foreign officials (e.g. Indonesian Finance Ministry) as part of UQ International Development programs. In December 2018, Gene’s book Beautiful One Day, Broke the Next: Queensland’s Public Finances since Sir Joh and Sir Leo was published by Connor Court Publishing.

Danielle Wood is a Program Director at the Grattan Institute. Her research and advocacy efforts focus on tax and budget policy, intergenerational inequality and institutional reform. Danielle previously worked as a Principal Economist at the ACCC, a Senior Consultant at NERA Economic Consulting and as a Senior Research Economist at the Productivity Commission. She is the National Chair of the Women in Economics Network and she sits on the Central Council of the Economics Society of Australia.