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Monday, 19 March 2012
Page: 3191

Easter Sunday

To the Honourable Members of the House of Representatives in the Parliament assembled:

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House that:

The Fair Work Act does not recognise Easter Sunday as a public holiday in the National Employment Standards. It does recognise Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Easter Sunday is a day of great significance for the 64% of Australians who identify as Christian and the 30% of Australians estimated to attend Easter Sunday Church services.

Easter Sunday is part of a recognised holiday break for all Australian people, Christian or not.

With the exception of Victoria, all mainland Australian States, as well as New Zealand, recognise the significance of Easter Sunday and require shops to close.

Indeed, the significance of Easter Sunday is widely recognised throughout the Western world by the fact that shops must close on this day in London, Paris, Rome, Milan and Montreal.

The Parliament of NSW unanimously legislated for Easter Sunday to be a public holiday.

We therefore ask the House to:

Amend the Fair Work Act 2009 so as to include, in the National Employment Standards, Easter Sunday in the list of recognised public holidays.

from 67 citizens and 154 citizens