Book 8 - Parliament of Victoria

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AMENDMENT BILL 2011
Thursday, 2 June 2011 COUNCIL 1683
alternative public holidays in lieu of Melbourne Cup
Day were inconsistent across the state. Indeed some
councils made no alternative arrangements at all.
Adequate public notice also appears to have been an
issue of considerable confusion in municipalities.
The 2008 amendments to the Public Holidays Act 1993
were intended to limit uncertainty about the status of
substitute public holidays. The act was amended so that
a request needed to be made 90 days before the first
Tuesday in November — the first Tuesday in
November being Melbourne Cup Day. The act was also
amended so that non-metropolitan councils could apply
for only one full substitute holiday which would apply
to the whole of the municipality, overturning the
flexibility of the previous act. However, as Ms Pulford
has pointed out in her contribution, under the changes
brought in in 2008 it has been possible for
municipalities — she read out quite a number of
them — to declare full public holidays in certain areas
of shires to accommodate local events, and the
surrounding areas of regional centres would mark those
as full public holidays. Substitute public holidays are
now published annually 90 days in advance of
Melbourne Cup Day.
The act was also amended to ensure that there were a
standard number of 11 public holidays throughout
Victoria, effectively making Melbourne Cup Day the
default public holiday in regional areas if there was no
other regional public holiday declared. The act was also
amended so that a weekday public holiday would still
apply if a holiday fell on a weekend. Indeed with the
unusual circumstance this year of Anzac Day falling on
Easter Monday, the Anzac holiday was held on the
Tuesday. The Anzac Day march was still on Monday,
25 April; however, the public holiday was Tuesday,
26 April.
The bill will reintroduce the regime for declaring public
holidays in non-metropolitan council areas in lieu of
Melbourne Cup Day that applied prior to the 2008
changes which I have just been through, excepting that
proposed alternative days or half-days will still require
a request to the minister 90 days prior to Melbourne
Cup Day. There will need to be a request made in
advance and publication of the result of that request in
advance so that, hopefully, everybody will know what
is happening.
In her statement of compatibility Minister Asher
claimed that the amendments do not engage the charter
of human rights because all Victorians will continue to
receive the same net number of public holidays. In
theory at least, in a municipality where two half-day
holidays are declared an employee rostered on morning
shift would arguably not be entitled to a half-day
holiday that is declared from noon until midnight.
Emergency and essential services workers, for example,
might fall into that category. I will be going to that issue
at the committee stage because I think that with the
declaration of half-day holidays there could be quite a
number of workers who will miss out on taking
advantage of the public holiday.
Mr P. Davis interjected.
Ms PENNICUIK — Mr Davis raised before the
issue of whether we should have public holidays. There
are 11 gazetted public holidays in Victoria, and the act
as it stands at the moment makes it clear that everyone
is entitled to 11 public holidays. In fact it would
probably be a good idea to move to 12 public holidays
so that we have one per month.
Mr P. Davis — Talk about the land of the long
weekend!
Ms PENNICUIK — Australians do not enjoy a
great number of public holidays compared to other
countries, particularly those in Europe, and contrary to
what members opposite might say there are good
reasons for having public holidays and for not being
consumed by work all the time. In fact more
productivity improvements can be made by making
sure people do not overwork. Australians are renowned
in the English-speaking world for being overworkers.
I return to the contribution that the Greens made in
September 2008 to debate on the bill which made
amendments to the Public Holidays Act 1993 — the
amendments which this bill today proposes to amend.
We suggested at least two more things that could be
looked at: a day to celebrate the role of the indigenous
community as the traditional owners of the land and
another to celebrate an international peace day, which
we suggest would be on 6 August, which is Hiroshima
Day.
Mr P. Davis interjected.
Ms PENNICUIK — August is bereft of a public
holiday, Mr Davis, so there is definitely an opening
there for another public holiday — an international
peace day. That would be a good holiday on which
people could reflect on the need for world peace.
Certainly Victoria is the home of the 8-hour day.
Unfortunately in the last 20 to 30 years the 8-hour day
has been creeping up to the 9, 10, 11 and 12-hour day.
It is well documented in the medical and
epidemiological fields that it is not good for the health
of workers to be working such long hours. Working