Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Easter is a time of significance for families across Tasmania and across the country. It's a period for reflection, connection and relaxation. Eating chocolate and spending time with your loved ones also makes it a very special time of the year. Yet for too many working Tasmanians, Easter remains unrecognised as a public holiday. This legislation has been an oversight for too many years and leads almost 30,000 Tasmanian workers, especially those in retail, warehousing, pharmacy and fast food, at a clear disadvantage compared to their counterparts in the rest of the country.

In most Australian state and territories, Easter is celebrated as a public holiday, granting workers the right to fair pay, penalty rates and the option to spend precious time with their loved ones. However, here in Tasmania, where I live, many employees are required to work through this period without the benefit of public holiday entitlements. They miss out on additional pay and, in many cases, the opportunity to take leave and recharge. This discrepancy is not just a matter of industrial relations policy; it's a matter of fairness when compared with interstate neighbours and respected workers who reap the benefits of having it as a public holiday.

Retail sector workers already face demanding schedules and pressures at work due to increased aggression from customers, and they are impacted by this—like anyone would be. These frontline workers often juggle shifts during times when families elsewhere are together, receiving neither financial recognition nor the right to the rest that they deserve. Every worker should be compensated for their sacrifice at work when it is on a public holiday. When everyone else is out enjoying themselves, you should get a fair day's pay for the work you're doing at that time. It supports having a break, supports workers' mental health and physical wellbeing, and boosts productivity in the workplace. It acknowledges their right to rest, to be with family and to participate in community life.

When we deny Easter public holiday recognition, we deny Tasmanian workers the dignity they deserve. It impacts not only their pay and conditions but also their sense of inclusion and value. I have on many occasions—and I do it here tonight—urged the Tasmanian Liberal government to stop dragging their feet on this simple reform. Recognising Easter as a public holiday will bring Tasmania in line with the rest of the nation. It will reaffirm our commitment to fairness and respect for workers' rights. It will ease the pressure faced by those in retail and hospitality, improve their quality of life and strengthen our social fabric. When we support workers we build a community that values equality, wellbeing and social cohesion.

I acknowledge tonight the work of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association, better known as the SDA, and their continual campaign to recognise this reform for working Tasmanians—in particular Joel Tynan and Paul Griffin, the former secretary who also campaigned tirelessly for this much-needed reform. I take the opportunity to acknowledge Josh Willie, Leader of the Labor Party in Tasmania, for being out this week and coming to the party and recognising that this has been an oversight for too long, and backing in Easter Sunday being a public holiday and being recognised in my home state.

We know in this place that we always prioritise workers. We want to support them and their families, just like the SDA and all the other unions that put their members before themselves. This is a change that needs to occur. The time is over for any further delay. Let us envisage a fairer Tasmania, one where every worker receives the recognition, pay and conditions they deserve. Together this will make Easter a time of celebration for all Tasmanians, ensuring no-one is left behind. Why should Tasmania have fewer public holidays than the ACT, who have 15; the Northern Territory, who have 14; and South Australia, who have 14? Tasmania has 11. That's unfair to Tasmanian workers.

Senate adjourned at 20:27