All eyes will be on Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday when he hands down the Government’s first major budget since Labor’s election win last year.
Mr Chalmers has been forced to balance the soaring cost of national debt against providing relief for households dealing with record high living costs.
There is also pressure on the government to reduce poverty and improve service delivery, while maintaining an election promise to deliver the stage three tax cuts.
UQ has experts from a wide range of fields available to analyse the budget and what the decisions mean for Australia and its citizens.
Professor Alicia Rambaldi, School of Economics, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Expertise: Professor Rambaldi can discuss housing supply, prices, affordability and rent in relation to government policies and actions.
Contact: a.rambaldi@uq.edu.au, +61 7 336 56576.
Professor Brenda Gannon, Director of Research, School of Economics, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Expertise: Professor Gannon specialises in health economics and economic evaluation of health care systems; and can discuss changes to Medicare and PBS, increases in GP bulk billing, Alcohol and other Diseases (AOD) budgets and other health/ageing issues.
Contact: brenda.gannon@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3346 1103.
Professor John Quiggin, School of Economics, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Expertise: Professor Quiggin will consider how the government changes (or doesn’t change) the Stage 3 tax cuts, unemployment benefits, and the long-term implications for the budget.
Contact: j.quiggin@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3346 9646, +61 400 747165.
Professor Paul Henman, School of Social Science, Faculty of Humanities and Social Science
Expertise: Professor Henman can talk about policy areas related to welfare, unemployment, and the cost of raising children. He also has expertise in income tax, as it relates to wellbeing and inequality, as well as the government use of digital technology in automated decision making or artificial intelligence.
Contact: p.henman@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3365 2383, +61 402 734 218.
Professor Nancy Pachana, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Expertise: Professor Pachana is Director of UQ’s Healthy Ageing Initiative and can comment on areas including aged care and nursing homes, ageing and mental health in older people.
Contact: n.pachana@psy.uq.edu.au, +61 7 336 56832, +61 405 790 054.
Professor James Ward, UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences.
Expertise: Professor Ward is the Director of UQ’s Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and a national leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research. He can discuss issues relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health and wellbeing.
Contact: james.ward@uq.edu.au, +61 439 605 227.
Dr Andrea La Nauze, Australian Institute for Business and Economics, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Expertise: Dr La Nauze is an expert in environmental and energy economics. She can comment on environmental and climate issues and has expertise in topics related to air pollution, rooftop solar and electric vehicles.
Contact: a.lanauze@uq.edu.au, +61 422 792 468.
Associate Professor Chris Freeman, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Expertise: Associate Professor Freeman can discuss the changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits scheme.
Contact: c.freeman4@uq.edu.au, +61 7 334 61727.
Professor Martie-Louise Verreynne, Associate Dean (Research) Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Expertise: Professor Verreynne is an expert in small business management and policy, as well as innovation policy and research translation.
Contact: m.verreynne@business.uq.edu.au, +61 7 336 53320.
Associate Professor Gabby Walters, UQ Business School, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Expertise: Dr Walters is an expert in crisis management in the tourism industry. She has a background in regional tourism development and tourism marketing with an emphasis on consumer psychology, as well as image and reputation management.
Contact: g.walters@uq.edu.au, +61 402 085 497.
Professor Shaun Bond, UQ Business School, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Expertise: Professor Bond can discuss the economics of housing, the real estate market, as well as volatility in financial markets. He’s currently researching Resilient Regions: Commercial Real Estate Markets and Natural Disasters.
Contact: s.bond@business.uq.edu.au, +61 7 3343 1240, +61 422 072 895.
Professor Hurriyet Babacan, Australian Institute of Business and Economics, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law.
Expertise: Regional economic development, housing, workforce, (employment) education and training, environment/sustainability, agriculture, water, innovation, energy and health.
Contact: h.babacan@uq.edu.au, +61 7 336 54211, +61 413 819 884.
Dr Natalie Peng, UQ Business School, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Expertise: Dr Peng can comment on general super topics, such as explanation of some of the reforms, what do these reforms mean for people, the impact of the super changes on the nest eggs of people across a range of demographics.
Contact: x.peng@business.uq.edu.au, +61 7 334 68061, +61 433 570 666.
Professor Flavio Menezes, Australian Institute of Business and Economics, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law.
Expertise: Professor Menezes can speak on economic policy, cost of living, defence, water, gambling, natural resources, energy, smart cities, banking, health, transport, and telecommunications.
Contact: f.menezes@uq.edu.au, +61 7 344 31279, 0417494426.
Associate Professor Matt McDonald, School of Political Science and International Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Expertise: Dr McDonald has expertise in Australian foreign and security policy, along with Australian climate policy.
Contact: matt.mcdonald@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3365 3042, +61 451 302 030.
Professor Kristen Lyons, School of Social Science, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Expertise: Professor Lyons can talk about development and environmental issues, including climate change, sustainability, resource development and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as carbon markets and human rights.
Contact: kristen.lyons@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3365 2020, +61 437 332 732.
Dr Saphira Rekker, UQ Business School, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Expertise: Dr Rekker is an expert in sustainable finance. She can comment on carbon reduction schemes as they relate to the Australian business sector.
Contact: s.rekker@business.uq.edu.au, +61 3443 1222.
Emeritus Professor Wayne Hall, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Expertise: Professor Hall can discuss vaping, smoking, tobacco and addiction, as well as policy around public health, ethics in public health, disease burden, cost of health and population health.
Contact: w.hall@uq.edu.au, +61 421 059 009.
Media: UQ Communications, communications@uq.edu.au, +61 429 056 139.
