Australia's historic move towards legalising same-sex marriage could bring businesses a massive windfall of "pink dollars" as tens of thousands of gay couples tie the knot, economists said this week. Legislation legalising same-sex marriage is expected to pass parliament by the end of the year after the announcement on Wednesday that Australian voters had resoundingly backed it in a national poll. With nearly 50,000 same-sex couples in Australia, and countless gay tourists who could come to the country to marry, the wedding industry is in for a boom. "We've got this pent-up demand and we could see over the next year or so, once the legislation is passed, a sharp increase in the number of weddings," said ANZ senior economist Felicity Emmett. The ANZ estimated the boon to business generated by gay weddings in the first year after legalisation could surpass A$650-million (R7-billion). Other immediate financial benefits could include an increase in overseas visitors who choose to marry ...
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