Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended calls for a public holiday if the Matildas win the FIFA Women’s World Cup, stating small businesses benefited the last time Australian states and territories launched an unexpected public holiday.
Last week, Albanese indicated he would encourage state and territory leaders to hold a public holiday should the Australian women’s football team make it to the final of the Women’s World Cup.
The Matildas took another step on that journey Saturday night, defeating France in an extraordinary penalty shootout after 120 minutes of electric football left the score tied at 0-0.
With the Matildas now in the semi-finals of the tournament, excitement for the team — and public discussions over the potential public holiday — has only become more intense.
Taking to ABC’s Sydney Breakfast radio show on Monday morning, Albanese stuck to his view that a public holiday would be appropriate in case of ultimate Women’s World Cup success.
“I’ve said that the state and territory leaders should consider it and I know that it’s received a pretty warm reception in most quarters, I’ve got to say,” Albanese said.
“This is something much more than just a sporting event. This is an inspiration to young girls in particular, but also young boys.
“The idea twenty years ago that, both of us have been around a while, that we would be having an interview here on ABC after packed stadiums had watched women’s team sport around the country, is something that could not have been anticipated.”
Opposition to the public holiday proposal has emerged from the small business sector, with advocates fearing local entrepreneurs will be unable to cope with excess penalty rates, or the prospect of lost trade, on such short notice.
“For a lot of small businesses, they simply won’t be able to trade under those conditions,” said Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia CEO Luke Achterstraat last week.
“43% of small businesses aren’t making a profit at the moment and the next three to six months is going to be really critical for small businesses to get through a pretty challenging environment,”
Those fears have been echoed by the federal Opposition.
“I don’t want to be Captain Killjoy on this but I think business has a point here,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.
“It’s easy to call for a national holiday when someone else is paying for it. I’m proud of the Matildas and every Australian is and we’re going to be riding it home.
“I think we’ve just got to understand that someone’s got to foot the bill and businesses are doing it tough.
“We live in a great nation but we have to pay our bills and make sure the country keeps going.”
Responding to concerns about the economic implications of a public holiday, including the effect it could have on small businesses, Albanese today reflected on last September’s National Day of Mourning, a public holiday held in respect of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“The world doesn’t stop on a public holiday,” he said.
“And so, I remember when we did the National Day of Mourning for the Queen, that was designated as part of the process that had been set down years in advance.”
Although business leaders, particularly payroll and accounting staff, feared the ramifications of that late-notice event, Albanese maintains some small businesses benefited from the occasion.
“Small businesses had the biggest boost, if you’re in the hospitality industry, that they had for a very long period of time on that day,” the Prime Minister said.
The next meeting of the National Cabinet will take place Wednesday, giving Albanese a forum to share his views with the state and territory leaders in person.
“Regardless of what happens, what we need to do is to have a proper celebration of the Matildas and their achievements,” he added.
“It has been extraordinary.”
Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
