Book 8 - Parliament of Victoria

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AMENDMENT BILL 2011
Thursday, 2 June 2011 COUNCIL 1719
there was a request. The new subsection in this bill will
provide for the minister to be given some rationale as to
why those requests have been made. Mr Somyurek
asked whether there were guidelines. My understanding
is that there are no specific guidelines, but the
provisions in this subsection will allow the minister to
understand why certain councils might have made such
a request. Ms Pulford said before that a lot of areas fall
in and then fall out. At least now councils will need to
provide a rationale to the minister as to why a certain
road may be divided and why a particular council has
made that decision. The expectation is that they will be
mainly for A and P shows and for — —
Mr P. Davis — Race days.
Hon. R. A. DALLA-RIVA — Race days. Could
you refresh my memory as to what A and P stands for?
Mr P. Davis — Agricultural and pastoral.
Hon. R. A. DALLA-RIVA — Agricultural and
pastoral. I have A and P. I am a metropolitan member,
as you know, but I was country born. I just remember it
being the show. I think that explains it.
Mr SOMYUREK (South Eastern Metropolitan) —
This will be my last question. On what basis could the
minister refuse such a request from a council?
Hon. R. A. DALLA-RIVA (Minister for
Employment and Industrial Relations) — The technical
explanation of the changes states that proposed
section 8A(1) deals specifically with Melbourne Cup
Day provisions that enable non-metropolitan councils
to request either two half-day public holidays or one
whole-day public holiday in lieu of the Melbourne Cup
holiday, which would be applicable to the whole or a
part of a municipality.
This provision ensures that non-metropolitan councils
may nominate Melbourne Cup Day itself as one of the
two half-day public holidays. Proposed section 8(A)(2)
is intended to facilitate requests made by
non-metropolitan councils and to ensure that sufficient
public notice — that is, 90 days — is given of the
relevant substitute day or half-day.
Proposed section 8(A)(2)(c) creates the new
requirement that non-metropolitan councils must
specify reasons to the minister for their request for
alternative public holiday arrangements. This is
intended, I am advised, to provide some guidance to
Minister Asher when she is exercising her discretion in
making a decision to declare the substitute day or two
half-days as holidays. Previously there was no guidance
in this regard.
Subsections 8(A)(3) and 8(A)(4) are legislative
safeguards intended to ensure that all Victorians
continue to enjoy the standard number of 11 public
holidays per annum. The intention of these provisions is
to prohibit the nomination of weekends as substitute
public holidays. In addition, these provisions clarify
that where two half-days apply to part of a
municipality, unless otherwise declared the other parts
of the municipality will continue to enjoy Melbourne
Cup Day as their default public holiday.
Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) — I had
a question hanging over from clause 1, if you
remember. During the discussion on clause 1 the
minister quoted from the Victoria Government Gazette
which gazetted those public holidays as if that was
proof of confusion, but all it was was a list. The 2008
bill provided that all of Victoria took Melbourne Cup
Day as a public holiday unless otherwise specified, and
what the Government Gazette list did was simply spell
out where it was specified that it was not Melbourne
Cup Day.
My question to the minister is: under this bill, given that
the 90-day notice and default position remains but local
councils can put in place the arrangements they had last
year or the year before or can change those
arrangements and make two half-days in different parts
of the municipality, would the minister not anticipate
that that list in the Government Gazette will actually get
longer?
Hon. R. A. DALLA-RIVA (Minister for
Employment and Industrial Relations) — My
understanding is that Ms Pennicuik is saying that what
is already in the Government Gazette will remain in
there this year, which does relate a bit to clause 1. If a
regional council decides not to write to the minister, as
defined in clause 4 — in other words, at least 90 days
before the Melbourne Cup, specifying the day or the
two half-days of the substituted public holiday and
specifying the reasons — by default it will then be
Melbourne Cup Day in that region.
Councils have up until 1 August to write to the
minister — that is, the 90-day requirement if the bill is
passed — specifying the reasons. I guess that is why
there are already consultation processes being
undertaken in some municipalities — to get some feel
as to whether the half-days should be for race days
et cetera. I am confused. Is Ms Pennicuik assuming that
somehow the list will continue? I did not understand
what she was on about.
Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) — The
minister held up the list as if it was proof of confusion. I