Tasmania's strong economic performance has many explanations: climate refugees, investment in new industries, our clean green image and the suppression of Covid-19. But one cause is consistently ignored: Tasmania has jumped ahead of the rest of Australia when it comes to LGBTIQ legal equality and social inclusion.

We have the best laws regarding discrimination, hate speech, relationships, and gender recognition, and we voted Yes in the postal survey more strongly than any other state except Victoria. This is an astonishing transformation for a state that was one of the last places in the western world to decriminalise homosexuality, and the only state in Australia to have anti-gay rallies protesting that reform.

How does this human rights revolution impact the economy?

First, LGBTIQ equality and inclusion reduces the kind of discrimination that hampers economic growth. In 2019, a team of economists from the US and the Netherlands looked at the relationship between LGBTIQ inclusion and economic development across 132 countries. They found that stigma and discrimination against LGBTIQ people ..."create economic inefficiencies, including lost labor time, reduced productivity, underinvestment in human capital, and the suboptimal allocation of human resources through discrimination".

Second, stigma and discrimination put extra strain on our health care system and thereby incur extra cost for taxpayers. According to Australian mental health service, Beyond Blue, discrimination against LGBTIQ people leads to increased levels of anxiety, depression and other mental health problems. Clearly, equity and inclusion result not just in a happier population but also one that's healthier and wealthier.

Third, equality and inclusion mean Tasmania attracts more LGBTIQ tourists, as well as more LGBTIQ entrepreneurs in the tourism sector. For example, in 2019 the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania found that our state has the highest rate of same-sex marriages in the nation. These were mostly interstate couples who chose Tasmania because of its reputation for inclusion and because it is a great place to tie the knot.

Finally, there is the positive message Tasmania's transformation has sent the rest of the world. In the 1990s, American economist Richard Florida showed that places are more likely to be prosperous if they can attract the global creative class. Members of this class want to settle in places that are open and tolerant, and a sure marker of these qualities is acceptance of LGBTIQ people.

The positive economic impact of LGBTIQ equality and inclusion wasn't inevitable. It is the result of many thousands of Tasmanians standing up for change. And it can just as easily be reversed by short-sighted government policies. The state government has sought to water down our Anti-Discrimination Act to allow more discrimination and hate speech in the name of religion. Some prominent government members still refuse to accept the legitimacy of our landmark transgender laws, despite the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute endorsing them.

Rolling back these important laws will not only disadvantage LGBTIQ people and other minorities, it will send a message to the world that we are retreating from the principles that have earned us global respect. Not least, it will undermine the message of tolerance and openness that has made us more prosperous. Tasmania still has a long way to go to be fully affirming of LGBTIQ people. But it is a better, more prosperous place because it has repudiated hate and embraced equality.

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