Statutory Holidays Amendment Bill 2026 (No 14)

Tuesday 18 August 2026

[9.24 p.m.]

Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - I thank the honourable member for Rumney for bringing forward this bill. I believe it's an important debate for us to have. I'm very conscious of the fact that we're trying to make a very delicate and considered decision here. I thank everyone who briefed us - Joel from SDA and I think it was Olivia, Jayden and Matty who came in. That can't have been easy coming and facing all of us there. And for the first time that you've come in. I'm really pleased that you actually came down today. Thank you very much. It must have been hard leaving Launceston.

Mr PRESIDENT - You had to get that one in, didn't you?

Ms ARMITAGE - I have to be a little parochial. I always find it's difficult leaving Launceston.

I do thank everyone for briefing us - the SDA, the TCCI, the THA - and everyone who has emailed us and sent their opinions. It's easy for us because we have choice. We have the luxury of taking any Sunday off we choose. We don't need to open a shop, shop front, hospitality venue, attend to essential services - even though we can choose to be available to our constituents at any time - but what we have is choice. Many workers, businesses and essential services don't have that choice.

I've been very conscious during this debate to listen to all sides. There's really a compelling case being made by workers and proprietors, and making a decision that's fair and reasonable has been very difficult. I want to first be clear that I understand that Tasmanian businesses and service providers, especially those who operate on weekends, holidays or after hours, do make a significant contribution to our communities and our economy. We know that many businesses operate on extremely slim profit margins, they work incredibly hard, and they provide employment to a significant number of Tasmanians. We need them. They are essential for our state's economic health and for the wellbeing of our communities. Every dollar, every cent counts. I don't want them to be burdened by any regulations or laws that are unnecessary.

This is also a matter of equity for Tasmanians: Tasmanians who work just as hard as workers anywhere else, who go above and beyond for their employers and customers and clients, and who feel the cost‑of‑living pressures more acutely than elsewhere. In Tasmania, working on Easter Sunday does not endow you with the same rights and the same pay that someone on the mainland has. That's not how I want our state to be perceived. I want Tasmanians who work on Easter Sunday to have their time away from their families, from rest and relaxation time, to be acknowledged and compensated fairly.

I know that Tasmania is different to the mainland. I understand that. We have an economy which is entirely different to other states and territories, and we have regional communities that have different needs to those elsewhere. Moreover, I understand that this is actually an untested policy here in our state, that we don't exactly know how this is going to work until it's implemented. I understand completely the apprehensions being held by businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, about how this might affect their profit and loss sheets. As the member for McIntyre would probably say, Western Australia is somewhere that I go fairly regularly. It is one of the many states that have Sunday as a public holiday, and I would have to say that I have never in my life seen a state or a city more alive than Perth. Whether businesses choose to close, certainly in Perth they don't. I'd have to say that the one thing they do is that many of the supermarkets and the shops have early closing hours, but the hospitality seems to remain open regardless of which day it is or what public holiday.

A number of estimates have been supplied to us from business and interest groups. I've read these and I take them extremely seriously and I won't read them again. I notice the member for Elwick read out many of the things from the THA. I believe it's reasonable, however, to look to other jurisdictions to get a better idea. Again, I'd emphasise that Tasmania stands alone in not having Easter Sunday as a public holiday.

I've not seen evidence to this point of other jurisdictions just as small as Tasmania to implement an Easter Sunday public holiday that it has had significant and serious consequences. In a place where many Tasmanians work on Sundays - not because they necessarily want to, but because they need to - bringing compensation up to parity with other jurisdictions could have very meaningful consequences for people who are already at a serious disadvantage.

I do appreciate the difficulty, particularly with regard to hospitality, and the concerns some may consider not opening at all and those workers losing a Sunday's pay. I understand the costs of opening, as many here would know that my husband had a hotel for 42 years. Many times, I questioned why he opened on particular public holidays or Sundays, given that many in hospitality would close on Sundays and Mondays, but he always told me it was for the customers, that there needed to be somewhere for them to go. He would say if you weren't open, tourists particularly would have a bad opinion of our city and that simply wasn't on. In fact, his hotel only closed on Christmas Day.

I admit that maybe on a public holiday I might have been working at the sink in the kitchen, sometimes behind the bar, but he always made sure that all the staff had a fair turn of public holidays. It was very important if they wanted to work, that they all had a turn of getting that extra money. I think that's really important. I might add that opening did not always make a profit, and I certainly can remember that. But it kept the patrons happy and they rewarded you by coming back and being loyal. That was something he always said to me: if you don't open, sometimes they'll go elsewhere and they may not come back. So even though you don't always make a profit, sometimes you might lose money, you pick it up on other days. It's swings and roundabouts and you open because that's the right thing to do.

I appreciate that some businesses might feel they can't open, but having a husband who had a hospitality business for a long period of time, I also understand the other side that sometimes it's not all about making money. Sometimes it's about providing a service, and the loyal customers will return.

I know this has been a reasonably contentious topic, and I don't think it's a matter of being on one side or another. I don't believe there's anyone in this place or the other place who does not want to see our businesses and services succeed and thrive. I also believe that Tasmanians work extremely hard and that working on Easter Sunday deserves to be acknowledged and reasonably compensated. I support the bill.