The Matildas are still three knockout matches from lifting the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but growing political support for a celebratory public holiday has concerned small business representatives, who see an extra day of penalty rates as a red card for local traders.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced yesterday that he would use a meeting of National Cabinet to promote a bonus public holiday among state and territory leaders, should the Australian women’s football team make the final on August 20.
The Matildas then went on to defeat Denmark 2-0 in Sydney on Monday evening, advancing to the quarter-finals of the prestigious competition and elevating hopes of ultimate triumph on home soil.
On Tuesday, NSW Premier Chris Minns confirmed he too would support a public holiday should the Matildas win the Women’s World Cup.
“We’d love to back the Matildas with a public holiday,” Minns said, in a statement read by 2GB radio host Ben Fordham.
“We’d work with the other states and the Commonwealth to get the right date.
“It’s going to be raised at National Cabinet next week. In the meantime, we’ll get behind the Matildas for the next two games.”
Other leaders have expressed their reticence to the idea.
While backing the Matildas, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews distanced himself from the proposal.
“The prime minister wants to give them a public holiday [but] I don’t know about that,” Andrews told reporters on Tuesday.
Small businesses offering food, drinks, and accommodation to football fans have greatly benefited from the bumper crowds at Women’s World Cup events, said Luke Achterstraat, CEO of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia.
But a bonus public holiday would come at a significant cost to traders, he said, given the requirement to pay staff up to 250% of their base earnings in penalty rates, depending on their award or workplace agreement.
“It’s very easy to announce a public holiday, but it’s a very hard thing in practice for a lot of small businesses, and comes in a pretty big cost as well,” Achterstraat told SmartCompany on Tuesday.
“I’m sure there hasn’t been any costing or any modeling done by the government on this proposed special public holiday, certainly to businesses operating in retail, hospitality, food services, some health industries, pharmacies, and even clubs and pubs.”
The last unexpected public holiday — last September’s national day of mourning, recognising the death of Queen Elizabeth II — saw some small businesses scramble to adjust their payroll practices.
Minimum wages and the superannuation guarantee rate have only risen since then, making potential penalty rates for a Women’s World Cup public holiday even greater than those offered to employees in September.
“For a lot of small businesses, they simply won’t be able to trade under those conditions,” Achterstraat said.
“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,” he added.
The government should pull “every lever” to support small businesses through tough times “rather than impose further costs”, he said.
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.
