Economy suffering from same-sex marriage ban
New research released by the Australian Marriage Equality group has found that Australia’s ban on same-sex marriage is hurting the economy.
The research paper released today projects that allowing Australian same-sex couples to marry would inject more than $700m into the national economy through expenditure on weddings. The figure is based on a formula developed by economists in the US.
It is consistent with a recent US study showing same-sex weddings injected $111m over five years into the Massachusetts economy. It also showed that highly educated, younger workers in creative industries were 2.5 times more likely to move to Massachusetts after marriage equality.
The Australian figure is also consistent with a study that projected marriage equality in California will inject $684m into the economy and create 2,200 jobs over three years.
As well as expenditure on weddings, the research points to further economic benefits such as an increase in overseas visitors coming to Australia to marry.
State and territory government revenues would also benefit from marriage equality. These governments collect revenue from issuing marriage licences and from conducting on-site ceremonies in state-run registries of births, deaths and marriages.
Using the formula applied to wedding expenditure, extra revenue collected by state and territory registries of births, deaths and marriages through marriage licence fees and ceremony fees paid by same-sex couples has been estimated at $7 million.
To see the full research paper, visit: www.australianmarriageequality.com
Labor is in government but the Christian Lobby is in power.
‘I think it’s likely her position will change after the Labor conference’ – No it won’t !!!
Um no- if you watch the whole interview, she goes OUT OF HER WAY to state quite clearly that she would feel the same way about gays even if she NEVER ENTERED politics and was still working as a lawyer.
The Labor Conference will either be a sh_t fight and/or people will be gagged from speaking, and the forces of the Australian Christian Extremist Lobby will win the day over Labor once again.
The ONLY “way forward” is to continue to Vote 1 Greens. And encourage all your friends & relatives to DO SOMETHING on this issue by also voting Greens. Imagine if both major parties were pushing the idea of bringing back slavery as it was part of the “tradition” of the Bible, or stopping women from voting or working, or banning divorce, or banning blacks from marrying whites…. and the only way to vote against this discrimation was to vote Greens (even if you didn’t agree with all their economic & environmental policies). Voting Green would be a very easy choice in that case, and now against the backdrop of all the other countries rolling out equal civil marriage, vs Julia’s bullying us into 2nd class citizenship & increased youth suicide, it’s a very easy choice.
As a country we are so far behind the time on the matter of marriage equality it is embarrassing, hardly moving forward!!!
I say we learn from the arab nations on this one. Take to the streets and demand the resignation of a human rights abuser and dictator that is our prime minister Gillard. She has so much blood on her hands… lucky for her and the Christian community it is as invisible as the marriage rights for the invisible GLBTI community… More action is needed.. Gay or straight, people should be out defending the human rights for ALL Australians..
My husband and I went to South Africa to marry. Other friends have gone to Canada to marry. This export of money should be an inward-bound tourism boost instead.
Australia is one of the most popular places to marry already – for straight couples – and of course it is already a popular destination for gays, for holidays. Obviously it would quickly become the most popular destination for gay marriages, were they to be legalised here.
The projection is probably conservative and we would probably have an economic benefit exceeding the $700m figure. What we now need to do is to get that report under the noses of all of the policiticians so they can smell the money (and taxes, and jobs etc etc).
Sten-
Telling us to look at the lessons in the Bible, in response to important human rights abuses by her government, is not the sign of a Prime Minister in touch. As for the Labor Party Conference, we were told to wait for Kevin Rudd, I am not waiting any longer. Exactly when will Labor end the discrimination and persecution of people in the GLBTI community? Just because some conservative out of touch Catholic Union says they are in charge, does not mean Gillard has follow them to Hell.
There are many areas of discrimination Gillard supports, marriage is just one of them.
Dave, I don’t for one second support Julia Gillard’s foolish postition. If you want to attack her you need a few facts.
1. She is an open atheist not a religious nut.
2. When she made her “Affirmation” not oath of office all she did was declare allegiance to queen elizabth. If She had sworn to uphold our constitution it would have made no difference, The constitution contains virtually no rights and those that exist are, in general, read very narrowly by the High Court.
I think it’s likely her position will change after the Labor conference this year changes the marriage policy.
While we have a failed Prime Minister lecturing us on the Bible in response to her extraordinary human rights abuses, we will continue to have trouble getting into a nursing home, we will continue not to be included in the Federal Equal Opportunity Act, and we will continue to be vilified by religious groups that are funded with our taxes to provide government services.
Has Gillard fixed any of this? No. And all she offers is a lecture on the Bible, having no understanding of the separation of Church and State. She lied to us when she took her oath for office. She did not uphold our constitution telling us to follow the Bible lessons instead.
Gillard is trying to make us a Conservative Baptist State. She was raised a Conservative Baptist, and refers to the Bible all the time to justify her unique brand of hate.
There are better people in Labor who should visit Gillard in the night and take control of the party if they want to save it.
So in other words, when Julia Gillard says that she does not support Gay Marriage on the back of Australia’s anglo-Christian roots, she’s saying that those conservative roots are worth more than social equality and a $700 Million dollar injection into the Australian economy?
We could use that…