ALL citizens should have the same rights and obligations in society. As such, gay couples should have the same right to marry under the Marriage Act. Given that the moral and social-rights arguments don’t seem to be getting us to this point, let’s try an economic argument.
Last year there were 121,752 marriages registered in Australia. According to business and economic analysts IBISWorld, the wedding industry generated $4.3 billion in revenue in 2011, an amount that they expect to rise to $4.7 billion in 2016. In terms of contribution to GDP, this equates to around $1.8 billion this year.
The primary economic boost would come through the direct injection of money spent on a wedding.