November 1, 2012
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington said common sense had prevailed in the State Government’s decision to shift the Labour Day holiday to October.
“Our community will have a well-earned break in the second half of the year with the Labour Day holiday to move to the first Monday in October from 2013,” she said.
The amendments to the Holidays Act 1983 were passed in Parliament on 30 October.
Mrs Frecklington said the change would break up the concentration of holidays in the April-May period.
“The former Labor Government amended legislation to move the Queen’s Birthday holiday to October but that meant we were out of sync with the rest of Australia,” she said.
“The Queen’s Birthday holiday will now be consistent with all other states and territories with the exception of Western Australia.
“We had two public holidays at Easter as well as Anzac Day and Labour Day all in a relatively short timeframe, so it made sense to break them up.”
She said a review of the 2011 amendment to the Holiday Act 1983 showed strong community support to move Labour Day as opposed to the Queen’s Birthday public holiday.
The move was also supported by a newspaper survey earlier this year where more than 70 per cent of voters wanted the Labour Day holiday moved.
Nrs Frecklington aid the move would benefit local tourism operators that rely on the Queen’s Birthday holiday for a boost during the quieter winter months.
“Also, the impact on businesses payroll expenses will be minimised as we have not added another public holiday, but simply moved the date when we observe Labour Day,” she said.
The 2013 Queensland Public Holidays will be:
Tuesday, January 1 – New Year’s Day
Monday, January 28 – Australia Day Public Holiday
Friday, March 29 – Good Friday
Saturday, March 30 – Easter Saturday
Monday, April 1 – Easter Monday
Thursday, April 25 – Anzac Day
Monday, June 10 – Queen’s Birthday
Monday, October 7 – Labour Day Public Holiday
Wednesday, December 25 – Christmas Day
Thursday, December 26 – Boxing Day
