CCIQ applauds public holiday legislation
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) has today congratulated the State Government on the passage of the Holidays and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 through Parliament this week.
CCIQ has been one of the main champions of spreading the allocation of public holidays in Queensland across the full calendar year.
More specifically CCIQ advocated for the relocation of the Labour Day public holiday to the second half of the year and maintaining the Queen’s birthday holiday in June.
Very pleasingly the Parliament has seen the merit of our representations.
This change ensures national consistency in the spread of public holidays across the full calendar year.
The concentration of public holidays and long weekends in the first half of the year disrupted production and services for business and industry.
The Queens’ Birthday holiday remaining in June ensures national consistency because it is the same in every state and territory with the exception of Western Australia.
Furthermore aligning Queensland’s Labour Day with the same date as our closest neighbouring State, NSW makes complete sense.
This will make a significant difference to those businesses who operate with connectivity to NSW particularly on close to the interstate border.
CCIQ believes it is right to have a public holiday for Labour Day however we should not be fixated on the actual date.
Ultimately CCIQ takes the view that the economy and jobs should take precedence over the timing of a specific public holiday.
Queensland now has good consistency with national arrangements that ensures minimal disruption to Queensland businesses.
These changes taking effect in 2013 is also a great outcome for the Queensland business community.