1.++Economic+problem+and+Evidence

= Ms Stevenson will not be providing any more comments on this page = = = = 1. Economic problem and evidence =

**Your task** 1. Press edit above 2. Move your cursor below your name (scroll down) - only work in the area under your name 3. Write in your economic problem as a statement 4. Find at least 3 pieces of evidence supporting your problem 5. **Using the table button** on the menu above select a table with 3 columns and 4 rows to record your evidence and sources (**use link - external link button above**). //Just start typing in the table - it will format itself when you press save!//


 * Miss Stevenson's exemplar **

The increasing popularity of E-books will see the demise of the printed book industry in Australia
 * Economic problem** : (note you can not use my topic!)

**Evidence (in bullet points) to support my economic problem** || **Source - weblink (use link button above)** || 1. || Amazon announced from March to June the sale of e-books for Kindle outstripped sales of hardcover books in the ratio 143:100 || [|Wall Street Article] || 2. || This technological improvement will primarily impact businesses and employees in publishing houses (over 160 in Australia ) || [|Australian Publishers Assoc] || 3. || This technological improvement will also impact the following associated groups; book chains, discount department stores and independent book stores || [|Neilsen] ||

Miss Stevenson: Alex - you need some evidence to support this is a problem
 * 1. Aleks A**
 * Alternative energy sources are too expensive as viable alternatives for traditional energy sources**

The costs of taxation reform to Australian industry are greater than the benefits.
 * 2. Jordan B**

**Evidence (in bullet points) to support my economic problem** || **Source - weblink (use link button above)** || 1 . || The government implementation of a 40% super tax for any mining company with a higher profit than a 6% return (the long-term government bond rate). This main issues is that the government applying this tax to existing mines, severely impacting the mining industry stock market and billions of dollars of long standing investment due a decrease in the returns of profit, “Credit Suisse estimates the value of mining stocks will decline around 5 to 15% while Morgan Stanley predicts a drop in value of around 15 to 30% by 2015.” who said this and when || __[|The Australian Article]__ ||

2. || “ The Australian Tax Office says that the mining industry pays on average 27.81% company tax with an effective tax rate of 41.3% when you include royalty payments” With the added taxation on super profits, this brings the effective taxation rate to 58%. This will have a severe on the resources industry and will be a major economic issue. when did the ATO say this? || __[|Mining Australia]__ ||

3. || There are “270 projects worth $300 billion and 120,000 jobs that were going through feasibility around Australia”. This could cause major withdraw from overseas investment, unemployment, decrease in economic growth and mineral exports. This is good Jordan ... but who said this and when || __[|Mining Australia]__ ||


 * 3. Ned B**

Australia's ageing population represents a challenge socially, and must be addressed by the governmental policy. Ned - you need to target this topic to either a labour issue or an industry issue ... I think it would be better to do it as a labour issue

I did all this before but my laptop ran out of battery.................................................

It is interesting to note that even though people in Australia are living longer, they are retiring younger. Combined with this, couples are now having fewer children on average, and these trends are fuelling an ageing population. Issues associated with an ageing population include:

1. increased expenditure required on healthcare, retirement homes etc (this money will need to come from taxpayer's pockets) bring this back to a labour problem .... f 2. shortage of labour, and a shortage of skills in some industries evidence? 3. (linked with 2) decreased productivity -> less competitive economically with other countries good point - but you need evidence

Ned - here you need to have evidence i.e. facts and statistics that Australia has an ageing populati. You also need some type of facts or statistics to back up your points 1,2,3 above


 * 4. Albert C**

The skill shortages in the Australia Aviation Industry 1. || Of major concern is the continuing contraction of the general aviation maintenance/repair area. There are indications that economic conditions in this area in 2010 will remain dampened, and many businesses will continue to  face severe pressures to the point of threatening their survival. || [|Manufacturing Skills Australia] || 2. ||  ||   || 3. ||   ||   || Miss Stevenson: Albert - your first point is not about skills shortages. Rather it is about the avaiation industry being in a downturn due to lack of demand. You need to find information about lack of pilots or oversupply of pilots with evidence
 * Economic problem** :
 * Evidence to support my economic problem** ||
 * Source** ||
 * Source** ||

The recent Nurses Pay Crisis will cause negative flow-on effects throughout the economy. 1. || Ongoing pay dispute between the QNU and the QLD government after a huge pay debarcle, where many workers in the health industry were not payed || [|abc.net] || 2. || Several nurses in central Queensland quitting due to payroll disaster (5th July 2010) || [|cqnews.com.au] || 3. || On 14 July 2010 nurses and health workers attended a protest rally outside Parliament House to demand meaningful answers from the State Goverment on the Queensland Health payroll debarcle. The rally coincided with the Parliamentary Estimates Committee hearing into Queensland Health. || [|Queensland Nurses Union Website] ||
 * 5. Peter C**
 * Evidence** ||
 * Source** ||
 * Source** ||

Miss Stevenson: Evidence?


 * 6. Ian C**

Australia’s infrastructure for the mining industry is underdeveloped and should be addressed by government policy. 1. || * Dalrymple terminal's capacity will be short by up to 17 million tonnes of coal when? - worth billions of dollars at current spot prices - contracted to be shipped through it this year. Why has this happened - what part of infrastructure is lacking here * The Dalrymple Bay coal chain continued to "underperform", and would have capacity to carry only 68-71 million tonnes of the 85 million tonnes of coal contracted by Rio Tinto and other miners to be exported through the port. || [|$23m-a-month bottleneck choking exports] || 2. || Mr De Lacy said. "Sales of coal now are as strong as they have ever been. The problem at Dalrymple Bay at Mackay, where the vast bulk of the Bowen Basin coal is exported, is that delivery of the coal is based on premium performance of infrastructure, and that is not being delivered. Producers like Macarthur Coal have to pay for the ships staying at anchor out off the port. We pay the demurrage for the ships sitting out there. "Last year, we paid $5 a tonne for demurrage, and if you look at the two loading terminals of Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay, there are 100 million tonnes of coal going through the two ports each year. That makes half a billion dollars a year just to pay for the delays that are caused by the inability of coal infrastructure."
 * Evidence to support my economic problem** ||
 * source** ||
 * source** ||
 * Demurrage costs while ships wait at anchor can be up to $15,000 per ship, per day or $765,000 in total each day for the 51 ships off the port yesterday - making a total of $23 million a month. The average ship is waiting 35-40 days, compared to 13 days off Newcastle in NSW, where the queue is down to 40 ships. why has this happened - what part of infrastructure is lacking here ...
 * warning that a forecast 8 per cent increase in coal production in Queensland and NSW to meet explosive demand in China and India will overwhelm rail and other infrastructure, especially to Dalrymple Bay. when is this - make sure this info is after the GFC ...

what date is this? || [|Delays at Queensland's Dalrymple Bay coal terminal cost firms $500m] || 3. || * “The report which report - when was it published, who wrote it? highlights the need to upgrade and expand transport networks and introduce whole-of-supply-chain strategies in the planning and regulation construction of ports, railways and roads,” Hooke said. The MCA has identified that if capacity constraints are overcome and market share expanded, Australia could be $129 billion - or 8.5 per cent of today’s national income - better off by 2020. * The gaps in infrastructure include transport infrastructure that is unable to meet projected growth in minerals industry transport task, particularly ports. Growth regions in Victoria are Gippsland and Western Victoria and the MCA suggests that there are inadequate transport networks (using a mixture of broad and standard rail gauges), and there is a need for new bulk port facilities outside of metropolitan Melbourne and direct rail and road links from production regions. || [|Export infrastructure suffering from ‘cancer of neglect’: MCA] ||

7. **Fletcher F** The unemployment rate for ... age/ gender / ethnicity... in the ..... region / state / industry .... is much higher than the national average. Miss Stevenson: Fletcher - fix your statement to narrow down what you are looking at eg indigenous people in .... 1. || The unemployment rate for Indigenous people was 16% compared to 5% for non-Indigenous people according to the 2006 Census. This compares to unemployment rates at the time of the 2001 Census of 20% and 7% for Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons respectively. Indigenous men and women had similar unemployment rates (15.8% and 15.4% respectively), as did non-Indigenous men and women (5.0% and 5.1% respectively). Unemployment rates were highest in the 15-17 year age range for all groups - Indigenous and non-Indigenous and both males and females. <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">The unemployment rates decreased with increasing age, again for all groups. <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">However the Indigenous unemployment rate was at least twice the non-Indigenous unemployment rate across all age groups. || [|http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/cashome.nsf/4a256353001af3ed4b2562bb00121564/3fa8ec177831c470ca25758b001232d2!OpenDocument]
 * Evidence to support my economic problem** ||
 * source** ||
 * source** ||

[|SORT OUT THESE REFERENCES USING THE LINK FUNCTION !!!!] || 2. || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">The Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) says the Northern Territory's Indigenous unemployment rate is the worst in the country and would be even worse if work-for-the-dole schemes were taken out of the equation. <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">CAEPR Professor Jon Altman says Australian Bureau of Statistic (ABS) figures for the three years to 2004 show Australia's Indigenous unemployment rate is 16.8 per cent. <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">In the Territory, it is 19.4 per cent. <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">Professor Altman says without work-for-the-dole schemes, such as CDEP, the figure would blow out even further. <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">"You could see unemployment rates increasing to 60, 70, 80 per cent, so on one hand the CDEP scheme doesn't represent real employment - it's only part-time employment, people working for the dole," he said. <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">"But on the other hand the scheme is enormously important in remote areas where there aren't actually other opportunities." || [] || 3. ||  ||   || Miss Stevenson: Fletcher - great research ! 8. **Callum G** Restrictions enforced upon uranium mining in Australia as a result of political and social opposition has hindered economic growth in terms of limiting employment opportunities and possible injections for the production sector. Evidence || Source || > >The world's population is expected to increase by almost 2 billion from what it was in 2007 (to 8.2 billion) and will hence increase demand for power > >**"Electricity demand is increasing twice as fast as overall energy use and is likely to rise 76% to 2030."** > >As such, Australia's lack of action in producing and exporting nuclear power is disabling a more prosperous Australian economy || [|Nuclear power] || >Australia possesses the largest source of uranium in the world, 24% of the world's uranium. >Yet Australia isn't even the largest producer of nuclear power in the world, and is hence neglecting a potentially profitable business || [|Australian Uranium] || []
 * > >Nuclear power provides 14% of the world's electricity and is an underutilized resource
 * > Australia possesses the lowest cost of recovering the resource in the world as figure 1 on the website depicts.

Miss Stevenson: Callum - all of the above is great background knowledge - howevernone of this research has anything to do with economic growth or amount of exports - you need to find facts and statistics .... that provide evidence of your economic problem - otherwise change your problem.

Callum - can you find any infromation on worldwide demand for uranium eg is it increasing?

9. **Elliot G**
 * Opposition to uranium mining in Australia is detrimental to economic growth.**

Evidence || Source || 1 || Concerning economics, an issue has been made of the large and rising economic costs of nuclear power and of various subsidies which have been made to it such as exemption from full insurance for nuclear accidents. Opponents have argued that the expected returns and export income from uranium mining, while large from the viewpoint of the mining companies, are small on a national scale. Opponents have also argued that uranium mining export income is not likely to be as large as predicted by the companies, that returns are unstable in the light of slowdowns in the worldwide nuclear industry, that much of the profits will go overseas and that many more jobs would be created through alternative investments. || [] SORT OUT THESE REFERENCES! || 2 || The Mary Kathleen uranium mine in Queensland has also been the centre of controversy. It was the direct cause of a national union strike in 1976 over treatment of workers associated with the mine. Millions of dollars has also been spent on the rehabilitation of this mine. The cost of rehabilitation has never been covered in economic analyses of uranium mines, with the end result that Australian taxpayers are forced to cover the costs of the industry's poor environmental performance. At both Rum Jungle and Mary Kathleen, no long term protection, in the order of tens of thousands of years, of the radioactive tailings and materials on site have been properly implemented, thereby leaving the opportunity for significant radioactive contamination of the surrounding environment. || [] || 3 || A June 2006 Newspoll of 1200 Australians found that 66% of Australians (including 78% of ALP voters and 53% of Coalition voters) oppose any new uranium mines. (More recent polls have been less strongly antiuranium - but the issue is still hotly contested.) A survey of 1020 Australians released in 2005 by the International Atomic Energy Agency found that 56% considered the Agency's 'safeguards' inspection system to be ineffective. Uranium accounts for just one-third of 1% of Australia's export revenue (0.32% in 2005, 0.25% in  2006, and an estimated 0.35% in 2007). The industry makes an even smaller contribution to employment in Australia - much less than 0.1% || [] ||
 * Export revenue and jobs**

Elliot - the facts and figures you have in point 3 are good and support your economic problem ... the information you have in 1 is simply background information (please do not cut and paste - you need to summarise into your own words and use bullet points) and the information in item 2 seems very dated? Make sure your problem is different to Callum.

10. **James H** - The small Australian motor vehicle market is forcing the automotive industry to locate off shore.

1. || The large-car segment, the traditional heartland of locally built fare including the Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon and Toyota Aurion, fell 21 per cent compared with the same month last year, continuing a run of shrinkages Miss Stevenson - what year and month is this data from? || [|The Age] || 2. || “Australia’s car factories are losing money on every vehicle they make. No amount of incentives from the State and Federal governments can solve this basic problem. It’s not a matter of whether they close down, but when they close down.” Miss Stevenson - according to who and when? || [|Car Advice] || 3. || The competitive environment facing the Australian automotive industry has changed substantially since the completion of the previous vehicle industry review in December 2002. The industry now faces a strong and rising Australian dollar, rising input costs (particularly for raw materials), an increasingly competitive global automotive market, environmental concerns, rising oil prices, and changing consumer preferences in a movement away from large Australian-produced vehicles. The local industry needs to take advantage of a range of opportunities, including the consumer shift toward new fuel and drivetrain technologies and the dramatic growth in emerging international vehicle markets. || [|Government Automotive Review] [|Chapter 2] ||
 * Evidence (in bullet points) to support my economic problem** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||

Miss Stevenson: Evidence?

11. **Noah K - Australia's water shortage is having serious effects on the economy** **Evidence to support my economic problem** || **Source** || 1. || **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif,'MS sans serif'; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">The economy expanded by just 0.3% in the three months to September [what year?], compared with the previous quarter, the slowest rate in more than three years. ** **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif,'MS sans serif'; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">Australia's key crop production fell by more than a third during the quarter, hit by the worst drought in a century. ** **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif,'MS sans serif'; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">However, mining-led exports helped keep the economy growing, despite an overall drop in business investment. ** **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif,'MS sans serif'; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">"In the period ahead, growth is likely to remain modest, reflecting the effects of the severe drought," said Australia's finance minister Peter Costello. ** **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif,'MS sans serif'; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">The Reserve Bank of Australia last month warned that the national drought was likely to slow economic growth, as a result of a drop in farming output. ** **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif,'MS sans serif'; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">It predicted that the drought would cut annual economic growth from 1.9% to 1.15%. ** || [|BBC News] || 2. || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">The RBA and most market economists have anticipated that the drought will knock off anywhere between 1/3 to a ½ of a percentage point of GDP growth in the current financial year with some worst case scenarios putting it at a full percentage point. what date was this infromation published?

<span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">This is mainly because of the reduction in agricultural supply rather than demand. The RBA expects farm incomes to fall by around 20 per cent in 2006/07 with a smaller fall in livestock production compared the previous drought. This data is too old - you need to be researching 2009 data! || [|Industrysearch] || 3. || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,verdana,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">When a drought occurs, this baseline cannot be met. Livestock and crops die, leading to reduced output and a loss of earnings for farmers. Some of the industries directly affected by drought include beef, grain, cotton, dairy, sugar, other food products and wool. //See image 2// <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,verdana,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">When rural regions suffer from drought, a number of primary agricultural industries can be adversely affected, which in turn hinders the economy as a whole. In other words, the economic effects of drought are not only felt by farmers. They can cascade into other areas in an indirect manner. If there were a drought-produced shortage of wheat in Australia, for example, food prices in cities would rise. || [|Skwirk] ||

Be careful you don't blame the GFC on water ...

12. **Sam L**


 * Australia's manufacturing industry lags behind other developed nation's such as japan and the United states of America, restricting growth/ development of the nation while reducing diversification ** Miss Stevenson: This is good ...!

1 || " Australia’s manufacturing and industry sector contributes much less to our economy than this sector does in other competing nations.... Australia’s manufacturingsector contributes between 3 to 10 percentage points less to GDP than in other competing nations." Miss Stevenson: During what year? According to who? || [|ACCELERATED DEPRECIATION] || 2 || In 1997 Australia ranked fifth for share of world value of non-ferrous metals, yet contributed only 4% of world supply. This share had remained relatively constant since 1985. In the supply of metal products Australia fell in world ranking from 10th to 12th in the same period. In food products, Australia's world ranking has remained at 12th, its share also remaining constant at 1.6%. In wearing apparel Australia's competitiveness has declined; in 1985 Australia ranked 14th, contributing 1.3% of production. However since 1995 Australia has not featured in the top 15 producers of wearing apparel. Miss Stevenson: Sam be very careful here - this data is 13 years old - you need 2009 data. || 3 || Within the stock market, the ten most valuable companies marked by market capitalisation in Australia include 7 banks, 2 miners and 1 retail company, with zero manufactures. In contrast, In the USA the top ten stocks are composed of 7 manufactures, 1 bank, 1 retail, 1 miner, and 1 oil. Demonstrating the lack of successful manufacturing in Australia. Miss Stevenson: During what year? According to who? ||
 * Evidence (in bullet points) to support my economic problem** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * [|INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES] ** ||
 * [|Large caps] ** ||

13. **Caleb L** 1. || Fair Work Australia has granted Australia's lowest paid workers a wage increase of $26 a week, bringing the minimum weekly wage to almost $570. Miss Stevenson: when? || [|ABC News Report] || 2. || The minimum wages received by employees in the national workplace relations system are determined annually by a specialist Minimum Wage Panel of Fair Work Australia. Miss Stevenson: This is good background but is not evidence that supports your problem || [|Fair Work] || 3. || The public sector (including most Government Business Enterprises) and the local government sector are covered by the state IR system. The minimum wage prevails over a contract of employment and existing state award, wages and conditions where the terms of the minimum wage are more favourable to the employee. Miss Stevenson: This is also good background but is not evidence that supports your problem || [|SafeWork SA] ||
 * __Economic Problem:__** The minimum wage in Australia is too low
 * Evidence (in bullet points) to support my economic problem** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * Evidence (in bullet points) to support my economic problem** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||

14. **Angus L**

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**There is a serious skills shortage in the health industry.**

Evidence (in bullet points) to support my economic problem ||  || 1 || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">various past policies have resulted in a considerable reduction over the years in the number of <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">doctors, and general practitioners (GPs) in particular. Miss Stevenson: This is too general - you need to specifically identify the policies and the dates they were implemented and an estimate of how much it is reduced the number of doctors .... || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">[|UQ] || 2 || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;">more than 50 per cent of doctors outside of South-East Queensland in both the private and public sectors are international medical graduates, without whom the private and public health service would collapse in Queensland according to who? when? <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">1 doctor for every 1451 people ||  || 3 || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Twenty years ago as many as 50 per cent of medical graduates entered traditional general practice. <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Of the 551 Queensland medical students due to graduate at the end of the year, Dr Stevenson said he expected only 25 per cent would enter general practice, while the rest would pursue specialist fields. <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">"That puts intolerable strain and stress on those general practices, but it also reduces access to frontline primary care services and that results in a delay in diagnosis and delay in treatment, which unfortunately does result in patient harm." <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Dr Stevenson said Queensland had largely been dependent on interstate and internationally trained doctors as graduates in the state were limited to 241 for the last three decades. good - only tip here - what year did he say this? || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">[|Brisbane Times] ||

//15. **Hamish L**//


 * __1.__** **<span style="color: #5f75fc; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">__There is a serious skills shortage in the mining labour market.__ **

1. || A 2005 study has shown that there is a shortage in skilled labour and furthermore that this is severely hindering the mining industries expansion across Australia Miss Stevenson: There has been the GFC since the time of that report - is it still an issue? You need up to date statistcis! || ABC Report || 2. || The current s457 immigration system is limiting around three and a half thousand skilled workers visa will be revoked, thus stopping them from filling the shortage in labour in the mining sector, after undergoing changes mid-2007. Miss Stevenson: What scheme? when was it implemented? how will the numbers be limited ... by how much? || SmartCompany Press Release || 3. || At the current rate it is expected that there will be a shortage of around 35,800 tradespeople in the resources sector by 2015. Shortages in labor are already being seen. Miss Stevenson: Accordingly to who? What effects? || The Wall Street Journal ||
 * Evidence (in bullet points) to support my economic problem ** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above) ** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above) ** ||

16. **Neil M** The Australian car industry is losing ground to foreign competitors.

1. || The industry, which is valued at $7.5 billion, exports more than $3 billion in parts and vehicles and provides more than 50,000 jobs, is under intense pressure to innovate and change due to emerging Asian markets, competition from developing economies, the move towards new technologies and a global over-capacity. What year is this information? || [|Crikey.com.au- Flicking Australia's electric car switch] || 2. || In the late 1970s, Australia's automotive sector was enjoying some of the highest tariff walls in the world, virtually immune from global competition. Anyone wanting a foreign-made vehicle had to get past Australian customs - and pay a tax, or tariff, equivalent to 60 per cent of the price .... Today, Australia car makers are some of the most exposed in the world: the tariff on imported passenger vehicles is now 10 per cent, to fall to 5 per cent by 2010. At the same time, local car makers are battling the loss of competitiveness triggered by the soaring Australia's soaring dollar, and fierce global competition from cut-price foreign producers. Australian car manufacturers have watched their share of the domestic market shrivel from about 30 per cent at the end of 2002 to roughly 20 per cent, translating to about 90,000 fewer vehicles a year. What year is the latest information here? || [|Drive.com.au] || 3. || Looking at our market in Australia this year, Toyota has sold 86,213 vehicles (from 01/01 to 31/05 what year? ). Every other brand put together has managed just 335,253 vehicles. That means more than one out of every five new vehicles sold every single day is a Toyota.The Japanese giant currently leads the medium car, SUV compact, SUV medium and SUV large segments in Australia. Not exactly an easy feat to achieve given Australian’s love affair with Ford and Holden. || [|Caradvice.com.au] ||
 * Evidence to support my economic problem** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||

Miss Stevenson: This is a really good start - but be careful of your sources ... you need to step up where you are getting information from and need to start researching what


 * government departments view
 * industry view
 * Australian CEOs of the different car companies on this issue
 * Union point of view etc

17. **Jon O**

18. **Josiah S** The price of fossil fuels is excessive 1. || <span style="border-collapse: separate; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">In the U.S., up to 20 percent of the country's fossil fuel consumption goes into the food chain which points out that fossil fuel use by the food system "often rivals that of automobiles". **To feed an average family of four in the developed world uses up the equivalent of 930 gallons of gasoline a year - just shy of the 1,070 gallons that family would use up each year to power their cars.//** Miss Stevenson: This is good background but does not relate to Australia - you need information on Australia || <span style="border-collapse: separate; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">[|Oil Crash] || 2. || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;">Some scientists warn that reducing the use of fossil fuels would cause great financial hardship. This is especially true in the United States because America's economy is more dependent on fossil fuels than that of other countries. Since economic growth depends on energy, scientists such as Fred Singer believe that any move to restrict the use of coal—the cheapest fuel available—could cause electricity prices to skyrocket. Singer explains his perspective about cutting back on fossil fuels Miss Stevenson: This is good background but does not relate to Australia - you need information on Australia || [|ScienceClarified] || 3. || <span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">The cost of oil could pass the $300/barrel mark if there is a 15% shortfall in the supply of crude in the future - and most research suggests a much greater shortfall than that within 20 years. At a meeting this week of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil, Toronto-based transport consultant Richard Gilbert revealed that while oil consumption is expected to increase by about a third by 2025 to more than 40 billion barrels a year, production will have fallen to less than 25 billion barrels a year. Miss Stevenson: This is good background but does not relate to Australia - you need information on Australia || <span style="border-collapse: separate; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">[|Oil shortage] ||
 * Evidence to support my economic problem** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||

19. **Kieran S** That Australia's increase in population is having negative effects on the economy

Evidence To support the economic problem || Source - Weblink || [|BGS] || [|BGS2] || [|BGS3] || Keiran - good points on number of migrants etc - but no evidence on the negative effects these migrants are having on the economy ...
 * * In 2008–09, more than 171 000 migrants were granted visas under the Skill and Family Streams of Australia's Migration Program.
 * In this same perio 670 000 people received temporary entry visas to Australia to undertake specific work or business, or to entertain, play sport, have a working holiday or study.
 * In addition to this, 13 507 humanitarian entrants were granted visas to enable them to live in Australia to rebuild their lives, having fled persecution or suffering. ||
 * * At the time of the 2006 Census, Australia's population was 19.9 million, with nearly one in four people living in Australia born overseas. Some 45 per cent of all Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was born overseas. Of those born overseas, the United Kingdom is the largest overseas-born group (23.5 percent), followed by New Zealand (8.8 percent), China (excluding SARs and Taiwan Province) (4.7 percent) and Italy (4.5 percent). ||
 * * Stuff ||

20 **Craig S**

** Evidence to support my economic problem ** || ** Source - weblink ** || 1. || Qld's generation capacity is approximately 12,000 megawatts (MW). On 21/07/10 the highest demand was recorded at 7000MW (around 1000MV being distributed to the more southern states eg NSW). Qld's highest ever demand was 8699 MW. Far too much capacity (ie. available supply). Hugely inefficient, unnecessary production costs. 60% is from state-owned power stations They have more influence on the price of electricity than the IPP (independent power producers) and have more market power. Not a very competitive market || [|Australian Energy Market]
 * State-ownership of the electricity industry in Queensland has adversely impacted electricity purchases for households and businesses.**

[|Department of Mines and Energy] || 2. || Electricity prices in Qld have increased by 13% as of 01/07/10. This is due to state energy regulators approving a multi-billion dollar spending scheme for Energex and Ergon who are the only electricity distributors in Qld. Both are state government owned - effective monopoly and no competition Inefficient - 47% of the supply cost is due to transmission and distribution costs Funded via tax-payers money. Prices should be much lower. || [|Department of Mines and Energy]

[|Smart Company Article] || 3. || Only 11 electricity retailers in Qld meaning it is area limited. In certain parts of Qld there may be only 1 or 2 retailers which supply that area. They are not incentivized to provide cheap electricity and so do not offer very competitive prices. || [|Queensland Competition Authority] || Miss Stevenson:Excellent research!

21. **Cameron W**

**Evidence (in bullet points) to support my economic problem** || **Source - weblink (use link button above)** || 1. ||  ||   || 2. ||   ||   || 3. ||   ||   ||

Pick out the main points and put them in the table then delete the transcript [] <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER, PRESENTER: The big float of 2010 will be Queensland Rail - a 150 year old state government enterprise, and the nation's largest rail business.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Premier Anna Bligh has decided to flog the company to raise cash.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Its chief executive is Lance Hockridge, who spent a lifetime with BHP steel in Newcastle and then port Kembla, before winding up in BlueScope steel after it was spun off from BHP.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Soon he'll be the CEO of a listed company, something he's looking forward to quite keenly, so he's selling the privatisation of QR pretty hard, against the opposition of competitors, customers and unions.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">So I discussed what they're afraid of with Lance Hockridge this week.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Well Lance Hockridge, the talk is that we are heading for an IPO, a float of QR on November 1st, does that sound right?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE, CEO, QUEENSLAND RAIL: Last quarter of this year for what's going to be a really exciting next stage of development for a company which, as you know, is about 145 years old.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">So this is a major step forward, it's a huge opportunity in the sense of the scale of the business.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">This company last year for example moved 250 million tonnes of the nation's exports.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: And what profit did it make last year?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: A little over $280 million last year.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: And it is going to be sold vertically integrated isn't it? Tracks and rolling stock all at once?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: The Queensland coal network is going to be sold with the company, yes, so it will be vertically integrated in that part of the business.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: And vertically integrated monopolies like that are on the nose at the moment, the Federal Government is passing a law to separate Telstra for that very reason, so why is QR different to Telstra?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: Because this is the right model. We've looked around the world at models...

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: Telstra says that too, if I may say...

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: But the comparison between Telstra and ourselves is chalk and cheese.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">You are talking about a big, big company with literally millions of small customers versus a company like ours with a handful or two handfuls of big customers, of customers of the kind of BHP and Rio Tinto.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">We've looked around the world at every railroad, around the world, what is the right model for this kind of business? The exemplars are the resource companies themselves, all of whom operate integrated railroads like ours will be.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">And the north American railroads, the so-called class one railroads, all of which are publicly listed, they are all vertically integrated, they are all very successful railroads.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: Your customers are worried about it - not only your competitor Asciano, who also wants to move, is moving coal on those tracks, is worried about it, but the customers are worried about it too.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">I mean, the only people who like the idea is the Queensland Government because it's going to get the most money.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: Well I think it's a little exaggerated to say that. I think the only people who are voicing any kind of opposition to this are people who have vested interest in keeping things as they are.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">And interestingly, those customers when they operate their own railroads, they operate on this structural model.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: But they're their own customers. I mean, when they do their own railroads it's not as if they've got customers like you have.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: As much as I’ve asked 'well what's the alternative', I don't hear an alternative.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">All I hear is a criticism of what's being suggested. The difference here is between ownership and access, to the extent that this is about competition. We favour competition.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Competition is demonstrably working at the moment. It's the right structure, it's the right time, this will be the right outcome for the customers and for the employees, for all of the stakeholders of this business.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: The return from your tracks is regulated?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: Yes.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: What return do you make from the rolling stock, the above track part of your business, return on investment?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: We don't disclose at the moment the different parts of the business. Last financial year, the most recently published numbers, QR Limited made a return of 7.7 per cent.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">So you can derive from that that we are not exactly making huge amounts of money out of these businesses.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: Well the returns from your rolling stock must be then in the single digits. Would that be a fair comment?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: Well I’m not going to answer because we haven't disclosed and obviously I’m under certain constraints at the moment about what I can and can't say given where we are.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">But we are in the infrastructure business and that's the sort of return, with the commensurate amount of risk, that we believe that we ought to be looking for as a publicly listed company.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: On returns, I mean I would have thought as a public company, particularly on the unregulated part of your business, you're going to be looking for in excess of 10 per cent - 12 per cent returns to pay the capital on the business. Surely that's right?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: Well precisely what we look for is something that we will talk about at the appropriate time.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">But if we go back to the model that I described a little while ago of the best of the businesses in this space, the north American class one railroads, they typically - to the extent that there is such a thing - earn a return of the kind that you are talking about, around that 12 per cent.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: So, this is the thing. I mean, I would have thought that you've got a fiduciary duty, as the managing director of a public company, to maximise the returns on the parts of the business that you can at the expense of competitors, which is why the integrated model is so problematic in a way.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">It's not as if you've got a national interest in order to maximise competition. Basically your interest is to maximise the returns on that part of the business. Even if it's to Pacific National's detriment.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: The real interest is to make sure that that critical infrastructure is built, it's built in a timely way, and it's built in an efficient way.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">And that, at the end of the day, is what's most in the interests of the customers. The proportion of their total cost which is represented by freight is far swamped by the ability to be able to get the marginal tonne through the system.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">Yes, we absolutely expect a fair return out of this business. At the end of the day, though, we are all in the same business.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">We are all advantaged by getting the most number of tonnes through the system.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: Just another issue between going public to private that a lot of people would be interested in I think is, a slightly personal one, do you get a pay rise when it becomes a private company?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: I'm actually looking forward to find that out myself Alan.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: You don't know?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: I don't know at this stage, no.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: I presume it give you also the opportunity, and your staff, to participate in equity issues or option type incentive schemes, would that be correct?

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: I think the single most important thing with respect to staff matters is that the Government announced in December was that every employee of QR National would be a shareholder, every employee will be given, at the time of float, $1000 worth of QR national shares, every employee will have the opportunity immediately to top that up by a further $4000 worth of shares.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">I think this is absolutely the right thing to do, I think that it will materially help us.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">In terms of the engagement around what we're trying to achieve in the company, we've got a lot to do, we've got a lot of growth to get on top of.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">And I already have a sense of excitement around the company at actually having a stake, an ownership stake in QR National.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">ALAN KOHLER: Thanks for joining us Lance Hockridge

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana,'Lucida Grande','Bitstream Vera Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">LANCE HOCKRIDGE: You're welcome Alan.