A researcher at a world think-tank says two extra public holidays ought to be created in Australia to mirror the nation’s various inhabitants.
Lowy Institute Analysis Fellow Osmond Chiu says Australia’s present listing of annual public holidays predominantly displays Western Christian traditions, regardless of a 2018 College of Melbourne survey discovering solely one-quarter of Australians attend church yearly.
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Chiu mentioned the 2021 census additionally discovered the vast majority of the Australian inhabitants had been migrants or the youngsters of migrants.
“By having some public holidays from non-Western traditions it is only a quite simple manner of claiming, ‘hey, truly we’re a really various nation and we actually worth that range’,” he informed 7NEWS.
Chiu mentioned Diwali, noticed by Hindus and Sikhs, in addition to Lunar New 12 months had been the 2 most evident holidays so as to add as a result of China, India and the Philippines had been among the many prime ten international locations of beginning for residents.
“It might problem pre-existing preconceptions about Australia as this kind of Western outpost within the Asia Pacific, and present that we’re an important vibrant Liberal democracy,” he mentioned.
There are at present seven nationwide public holidays in Australia together with Good Friday, Easter Monday and Christmas Day.
State and territory governments have the power to acknowledge any further holidays, with most additionally recognizing Easter Sunday as a vacation.
Chiu mentioned Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have an inventory of public holidays that mirror their inhabitants’s cultural and non secular range with holidays for the Muslim pageant of Eid, Lunar New 12 months and Diwali.
The concept of ​​multicultural public holidays can also be already being practiced in distant Australian territories like Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands with Lunar New 12 months a acknowledged public vacation on Christmas Island and Eid a public vacation on each these Islands.
Numerous employers just like the College of Wollongong are additionally providing their staff the selection to work on Australia Day, January 26, and take off one other day as an alternative.
Whereas declaring a public vacation appeared straightforward final 12 months when Queen Elizabeth II’s dying was declared a vacation two weeks after her passing, there’s laws in every state figuring out how companies ought to function throughout vacation intervals.
The Fairwork Act additionally required that employers pay their staff further wages in the event that they had been required to work on a public vacation.
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce mentioned some companies may wrestle to maintain up with wages if the variety of public holidays elevated.
“Companies are having a very onerous time heading out of COVID recovering and the powerful financial headwinds that they are going through in 2023, signifies that its a very powerful time they want definitely not the specter of further public holidays,” mentioned the Chamber’s CEO Chanelle Pearson.
– with reporting by Jodi Lee
