To prevent unneeded disturbance, a significant business group has argued that states and territories should be permitted to select the day of the King’s Birthday public holiday.
They had the option of picking the day of the Queen’s Birthday public holiday, and the majority decided to honor the late queen on a Monday.
The business community, according to Tim Pipe, chairman of the Australian Industry Group’s Victorian chapter, hopes the King’s Birthday holiday date will stay flexible.
‘If it was to be a preset date, it will be disruptive to have it during the week,’ he said.
There is confusion in the business community about when a new King’s Birthday public holiday would be held. Pictured are King Charles and Queen consort Camilla
Mr Piper said the national day of mourning to commemorate the Queen, confirmed for Thursday, September 22, would be ‘very busy and very expensive’ for businesses.
The Victorian public holiday for the AFL grand final is the following day (Friday, September 23), which means four consecutive days of penalty rates for hospitality businesses and sectors that trade on holidays and weekends.
West Australian businesses are in a similar position, with the Queen’s Birthday public holiday on Monday, September 26.
Mr Piper said the one-off holiday to mourn the Queen was appropriate given her 70-year reign, but would undoubtedly put businesses under pressure.
Asked about the snap holiday’s impact on businesses, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was an appropriate response to a historic occasion.
He said essential services remain open on public holidays and penalty rates apply.
Mr Albanese said medical procedures would go ahead on the public holiday.
Australian businesses are concerned that the public holiday to mourn Queen Elizabeth will drive up their costs. Pictured is a waitress taking an order in a restaurant
‘The idea that operations don’t occur during public holidays, is of course, not correct,’ he said. ‘Medical procedures are always a priority.’
Impact Economics and Policy’s Angela Jackson said there were ‘swings and roundabouts’ when it came to the cost of public holidays on the economy, with some sectors benefiting and others hit with extra costs.
‘International research indicates there can be small positives due to increased spending as people are not at work and production loss is generally made up,’ she said.