News that Tasmania, the island state off Australia’s southeast coast, would begin recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere was met with a bittersweet reaction this week: the government still wasn’t going to recognize those types of unions if performed within its own borders. (Thanks, Julia Gillard!) So why open yourselves up to foreign gays but not your own? To lure you there.
Not as tourists, but as permanent residents. Jenara Nerenberg notes Tasmania’s Liberal Party unveiled a plan this year on how they would boost their population by 70,000 people in the coming years. And it involves paying people to move there; $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for couples, so long as you’re under 45 and can get a job.
“It’s just a matter of time,” writes Nerenberg, “before they say, outright, that they want more gay residents. Afterall, the gay community has long been known to be an extremely lucrative market.” Not that Tasmanian officials are saying their gay marriage move is an attempt to lure homos there. But you don’t have to be a policy expert to know once the gays move in and spruce things up, everyone wants to move there.
But who says this is a bad thing? When’s the last time anybody came up to you and offered you cash to recognize your marriage?
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
I would be ascared of the Tasmaniaian Devils…………. :p
Steve
@PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS: Tasmanian Devils are the only reason I WOULD go there.
Andrew
A couple of points to clarify – all overseas immigration requests have to go through the Australia Federal Governments Department of Immigration – individual states have no authority in determining who would be accepted as an immigrant. While gay marriages are not recognised by the Australian Federal Government, de-facto or interdependent relationships are recognised. My American partner and I are moving back to Australia permanently at the end of the month since we could prove that we were de-facto relationship my boyfriend was granted a residency visa. Finally, Australia wants skilled immigrants BUT unless you are being sponsored by an employer or as the partner of an Australia Citizen, if you are older than 45 years and/or not a millionaire forget it. The Australian Government does not care about your sexuality, it is much more concerned with your education, age and skills (I am not saying this is a good thing but just stating the facts).
Mike L.
@Steve: Too bad they’re all dying of cancerious tumors spread by a carcinogenic dicease that is contagious among them which begin in the mouth and eventually kill the poor animals from starvation.
Chris
Wow tasmania has finally resorted to paying people to move there.
That state really is Australia’s alaska 😛
Although it’s actually kinda funny that Tasmania was the last state to decriminalise homesxuality (in the 90’s i think!) and yet it’s arguably the most liberal state in the commonwealth these days. Funny how fast we can progress when we put our mind to it.
Syl
@Andrew: actually, that’s a great thing. I wish the U.S. had that kind of policy.
But seriously, no thanks. Australia was made by God when he/she/it was either high or had PMS. Funnel-web spiders and box jellyfish are enough to keep me away, but you guys also have three of the ten deadliest snakes, a giant fucking hole in the ozone layer, scorching heat, and even kangaroos can kill people! I can experience 100 degree plus heat all summer, wildfires and desert all here in California! Plus our wine and our weed is better. :p
Chris
@Syl: Yeah man we’re fucking like man vs wild hardcore every day! wooooooot woooooot lol
weed: yes
wine: no
australia is the third largest exporter of wine 🙂
Stephen
@Syl: mate ur talking about the outback. haha Tasmania is pretty much like new zealand with its cool/cold weather and all. sheesh at least travel to the place before u judge it.
Nick Farben
Australia = Oppositeland. It’s the south (South Australia, Victoria & Tasmania) that’s liberal minded and the north and west that’s conservative. Our ‘Liberal Party’ is uber conservative, our rodents are huge, our Green Party is powerful and our forests need to burn to grow.
Tasmania is lovely… cool Mediterranean climate, fantastic rivers really close to the city that you can just go for a dip. It’s a really cheap flight from where I am (Melbourne) so I go over often to hike and fish.
Devils can be fierce, but are mostly quite alright. It’s those dropbears… fuck they scare me. There are ways to prevent getting attacked by them.
@Mike L.: I really sucks about the devils. They are a really important part of the eco-system, being one of the few predator marsupials.
@Syl: All our best wines are exported usually. Aussies will drink anything in large quantities, so we just keep all the cheaper wines for ourselves, and we have A LOT of wine.