Public Holidays - To Have Or Not To Have  

 

By Dino Cesta - 18 December 2014

ON LINE OPINION 

 

 

As we approach the end of the year and the festive holiday season, it is hopefully a time to wind down, recharge one's batteries, celebrate, spend and reflect on the year past with friends and families. But do we actually take a moment, with a beer or glass of wine in hand, and consider the meaning and significance of our public holidays celebrated throughout the year?

 

What do the various public holidays represent to you? Do particular public holidays hold more personal or community significance than others? Are some out-dated, pointless, or in this modern age unaffordable to an economy?

 

As a society, have we lost focus on the symbolism of our determined public holidays, whether at the national, State or local level? In this day and age, do we take certain days for granted, and use the day not so much as a celebrated day of gathering and reflection, but more as an opportunity to have a day off from the stresses of work?

 

And should we re-evaluate our existing public holidays, to consider abolishing some and introducing other more worthy public holidays for significant events which represents more of who we are today as a nation? What do you think?

 

What inspired me to write on this seemingly innocuous issue is the uproar in my hometown of Newcastle, in which the local Council passed a motion for a public holiday for the opening day of the annual Newcastle Show.

 

The resulting consequence of the Council action is that many in the business community of Newcastle are now pushing for the public holiday not to proceed, concerned that it will cost local businesses and the economy in excess of $35 million. Local businesses consider it unaffordable in the present depressed economic climate, particularly for small business.

 

Section 8(2) of the Public Holidays Act 2010, under "Local event days" states 'The Minister is not to declare a local event day unless satisfied that the day or part-day is, and will be observed as, a day of special significance to the community in the area concerned.'

 

If one's position is that public holidays should only apply to local, regional and national events of significance and reflection, such as celebrating our war heroes, or special days of celebration, including spiritual religious days of Christmas and Easter, then it is difficult to justify how the Newcastle Show can be deemed '... a day of special significance to the community… '

 

Should a day proclaimed as a public holiday be more to pay homage to individuals who have made a mark on society, or events of time passed in our city, region, or nation, in which we remember who we are as a people, and where we've come from?

 

Is it therefore more poignant for the Newcastle City Council to establish a 'local event day' to celebrate the birth of Newcastle and/or the cultural heritage and diversity, which has made our city, a special place in which to live? Novocastrians and the business community are more likely to embrace a more meaningful day, than an unviable Show Day in which fewer and fewer people attend.

 

At a national level, Australia's seven public holiday days of celebration are New Year's Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. Additionally, at the State or Territory level, other public holidays may be optionally proclaimed, including the Queen's Birthday and Labour Day. And at the local regional level, public holidays can also be declared, such as in Melbourne on the first Tuesday of November for the race that stops the nation.

 

Does Australia have it right when it comes to public holidays? Celebrating the establishment of the first English settlement on Australian soil on 26 January 1788 is worthy of a public holiday. But as a nation, is it time we established an Indigenous Day as a national public holiday to honour and celebrate the traditional owners of our land? Perhaps have both the Indigenous Day and Australia Day on two consecutive days as a united and symbolic gesture of reconciliation?

 

Is the commemoration of the Queen Birthday on designated and separate public holidays in our respective States and Territories still relevant in modern Australia? Instead, should we not honour Australians who have made an extraordinary contribution to Australia with a public holiday?

 

Would it not be befitting to bestow Sir Henry Parkes (1815-1896), as Australia's "Father of Federation", with a public holiday? Parkes' "Tenterfield Address" in 1889 inspired Australians to seriously push for the separate colonies to form a'... national government for all Australia.'

 

As exclaimed by historian Arthur Jose, "Macquarie made the Australian gaol a colony...Wentworth made it a home for free men...It was Henry Parkes who made it a democracy."

 

Other countries honour individuals with a public holiday. Which historical Australian figures do you believe are worthy of consideration for a national public holiday? What about Caroline Chisholm? Or Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop? Perhaps Saint Mary MacKillop? Even Andrew 'Banjo' Paterson? And Sir Donald Bradman?

 

What of Labour Day'? Is it still necessary to celebrate the achievements of Australia's labour movement with a public holiday? Do many Australians actually reflect or just take for granted on the hard earned rights gained by the labour movement for over a century on Labour Day? With the decline in union membership over the past several decades, perhaps Australians take for granted the rights delivered by the labour movement.

 

Christmas and Easter is a tussle between commemorating the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and receiving presents and chocolates from Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny respectively. Have we as a society lost sight of the true meaning of our religious days of celebration or have Santa and a Rabbit usurped the days?

 

With an increasingly number of Australians non-Christian, how relevant or connected are non-Christians toward these festive seasons? Should there be a renaming of Christmas and Easter and a broadening of the religious or spiritual celebration to include non-Christians, such as Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and even atheists?

 

And do many Australians know why Boxing Day exists? When Australians think of Boxing Day, they are likely to envisage the traditional Boxing Day Test Match cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, or in more recent times, post Christmas sales.

 

A British derived holiday, there appears a lack of clarity of its origins! One version is that it was apparently established as a custom for tradesmen to receive boxes of gifts in exchange for their services provided to the wealthy over the year. Should we consider renaming Boxing Day to something more meaningful and resonates with Australian society?

 

The Australian Capital Territory celebrates a Family and Community Day, in which as the name suggests is an opportunity for families and friends to spend time together. Aside from the iconic Anzac Day, the Family and Community Day is most worthy of a national public holiday, and could replace Boxing Day or even Labour Day.

 

Is it time to strike a constructive national conversation about our public holidays, to challenge the purpose and relevancy of our days of commemoration in today's Australia? I believe it's time. What do you think?