vibrant state is the second book in the vibrant nation trilogy, a hopeful blueprint for Tasmania and beyond. Told through story, strategy, and futures imagination, it shows how one small place with a big heart rebuilt public systems at state scale, from truth-telling and land return to housing, health, justice, and work with purpose.

Set in 2064, the story follows Willow, a young leader, and paul, a seasoned reformer, as they walk and talk their way through the choices that reshaped lutruwita/Tasmania. Together they trace the emergence of the State of Ten Zeros: zero excuses on land return, zero intimate partner violence, zero road toll, zero poverty, zero unemployment, zero homelessness, zero avoidable hospital admissions, zero harm to animals, zero bullying, and zero suicides. These goals become a civic floor rather than a slogan, a shared commitment to organise public systems around dignity and prevention.

Along the way, readers encounter the structures that made change possible. Vision Zero roads that forgive human error. The economic triad of zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero homelessness supported by TAFE pathways, social enterprise, and purposeful public work. Prevention-first health systems with community hubs and social prescribing. Cultural shifts that replace bullying with belonging and treat kindness as public infrastructure.

Blending memoir, futures thinking, and practical policy, vibrant state offers a story-led blueprint that is hopeful enough to inspire and rigorous enough to guide governments, communities, and coalitions. Grounded in upstream thinking, kind politics, and insights from the Power Threat Meaning Framework, it asks what becomes possible when a state measures success by the harm it prevents.

If you have ever believed Tasmania could be a model rather than a margin, this book is an invitation to imagine and to act.

A state worth protecting.
A future worth building.
Together.