a day ago
Two new public holidays could be coming for millions of Aussies: What you need to know
West Australians could soon enjoy two extra days off each year under a bold proposal to revamp the state's public holiday calendar - but business groups are already expressing concern over the potential costs.
Western Australia currently has the fewest public holidays in the country, with just 11 days -the same as New South Wales. In comparison, Victoria, the Northern Territory, and the ACT each have 13 public holidays, while Tasmania, Queensland, and South Australia have 12.
One of the proposed additions would officially recognise Easter Saturday as a public holiday. The other would introduce a new day off in September.
WA is the only mainland state that does not recognise Easter Saturday as a public holiday, meaning workers do not receive higher pay rates if they work on that day.
Also under consideration is moving WA Day away from winter and aligning existing public holidays with those observed in other states.
However, the plan has triggered immediate pushback from employers, who warn that the additional days off would hit small businesses hardest due to increased penalty rates and reduced productivity.
The state's peak business group, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, said it supports aligning WA's public holidays with the rest of the nation - but not the addition of new holidays.
Acting co-CEO Aaron Morey said that while aligning WA's public holidays with the rest of the country makes good sense, west coast businesses would oppose any increase in the number of public holidays.
'The cold, hard fact of the matter is that small businesses are doing it very tough at the moment,' he said.
'Wage costs are already putting pressure on hardworking small and family businesses, who would face the choice of either absorbing higher wage costs or losing a day of trade.
'For hardworking small business owners, more public holidays represent more days paying someone $65 an hour to wash dishes.'
However the move has been supported by Unions WA which said public holidays were now one of the few genuine opportunities for working people to spend time with friends and family.
'WA families are having to work flat out to keep up with the cost of living and meet all the demands of modern life,' a union spokeswoman said.
'Those scheduled days off work are absolutely critical to people's lives, their relationships, their health and wellbeing, and to our whole community.'
Premier Roger Cook argued the state was the 'engine room of the national economy' and aligning WA public holidays with other states and territories would boost productivity and make life easier for local businesses.
'It's also important that WA workers receive similar benefits to what workers receive in other states, because that's the right thing to do,' he said.
'We recognise that any decision to reform the State's public holiday schedule needs to include consideration of the impact of the change, be that to the private and public sectors or the WA community.'
A consultation paper has been released, with feedback on the reforms open until August 8.
