BY DAKOTA TAIT
The Hunter can expect a day off to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II next Thursday, but businesses are bracing for a busy day.
Anthony Albanese's declared a public holiday for the National Day of Mourning on September 22, but the short notice has raised concern for hospitality and other local business.
Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes says the sector's already facing staff shortages, and it could be hard for businesses to find spare hands.
"Many businesses would have already made arrangements for that week, and for that matter, members of the community and the public, their expectations are already set," he said.
"It will be a little bit disruptive, and I think the impacts across businesses will be somewhat uneven and some will be impacted more than others."
"But at the end of the day, there's nothing we can do about it. We just have to try and accommodate it and move on."
It's unclear if there will be special restrictions or limitations on opening hours on the public holiday, but the business community expects workers will be entitled to penalty rates.
Mr Hawes says it's thrown a spanner in the works for school formals and other events too.
"Now they might be faced with additional costs as a consequence of having to pay those penalty rates," he said. "There might be a bit of to and fro with people that have made those bookings and arrangements."
"Apart from the fact that some people, some staff might have other plans or are trying to put other plans in place to take the Friday off as well and make a long weekend out of it."
The Australian Medical Association has also raised concern about the one-off holiday, with worry it could have a major impact on appointments and elective surgeries.
Schools are also scrambling to make plans, with holidays set to begin the weekend after the sudden public holiday.
The Prime Minister says it's a once-in-a-lifetime event, however, and as much notice has been given as possible.
Here in the Hunter, we're being urged to be calm at the checkout.
"A plea to the community to be patient," Mr Hawes said. "Don't take it out on the business or the workers if your expectations aren't being realised on the day, if a business does choose to open."
"Even leading up to it, if you're trying to make arrangements and you're finding that they're falling foul because a public holiday has been declared, they've got to understand that it's not the business' fault."
"They didn't call for it, it's just the circumstances they're in."
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| Image credit: Anthony Albanese. |
