vibrant state: ten kind policies to transform Tasmania

Set across lutruwita/Tasmania and told from the vantage point of 2064, vibrant state is a story-led blueprint for a kinder, prevention-first state. Through an intergenerational walk-and-talk between paul—an older reformer with a long memory of struggle—and Willow—a young leader shaped by the age of "zeros"—the book asks what happens when a state chooses care over control and courage over caution. Each chapter advances a civic floor, not a slogan: zero excuses on land return (truth-telling made structural, Country restored, Treaty with teeth); zero intimate partner violence ("love without harm" as a public standard); Vision Zero roads that forgive human error; the economic triad—zero poverty, zero unemployment, zero homelessness—with TAFE pathways, social enterprise, and the public sector modelling fair, purpose-filled work; zero avoidable hospital admissions via prevention hubs, trauma-informed care, and social prescribing; zero harm to animals; zero bullying across schools, workplaces, and online; and zero suicides through whole-of-society connection and upstream care. Along the way, Tasmania reforms local government (fewer councils, ward representation, reserved Aboriginal seats), builds shared power, and measures what matters with the Avoidable Costs Unit (ACU)—a public yardstick for dollars not spent when we invest upstream. Futures tools—MemoryLoom, CivicLoom, and DeepSeequence—let communities see consequences before they legislate, while policy snapshots and ACU matrices turn vision into practical steps. Like its companion volume vibrant city, this isn't a party platform or a technocratic manual. It blends memoir, strategy, and evocative futures writing—human enough to move readers, rigorous enough to guide Cabinets, councils, coalitions, and community campaigns. Grounded in three principles that run through the trilogy—Upstream Thinking, Kind Politics, and the Power Threat Meaning Framework—vibrant state shows how a small place with a big heart can lead: redesigning systems to prevent harm, widen dignity, and make fairness ordinary. If you've ever believed Tasmania could be a model, not a margin, this book is your map.