Reply from SA Premier

OFFICIAL

Thank you for your email in relation to the Public Holidays Bill 2023.

I am disappointed that the Liberal Party is purposely spreading misinformation regarding the new Public Holidays Bill 2023.

I can assure you nothing in the legislation passed by Parliament changes ANZAC Day, Christmas Day being commemorated on 25 April and 25 December respectively, in fact it enshrines those days in legislation as a public holiday.

In fact, the legislation enshrined Christmas Day as a public holiday on whatever day it lands on and Easter Sunday as a public holiday, something the old legislation did not do.

The only party that wanted to abolish a public holiday during the debate in Parliament was the Liberal Party who sought to abolish Easter Saturday as a public holiday, something the South Australian Labor Party opposed.

Nevertheless, to avoid any doubt, this morning I have announced that the legislation will be amended to include the names of the holidays next to the date. This will mean that alongside the date of the public holiday, the name of the public holiday will be included in the legislation for each public holiday.

This will mean in addition to the ANZAC Day Commemoration Act 2005 (see attached) that enshrines in legislation the commemoration of ANZAC Day on
25 April, we will include the name of the holiday in the Public Holidays Act.

South Australia is one of the only States in Australia to have a separate ANZAC Day Commemoration Act 2005 that declares ANZAC Day as a day of national significance. It also restricts activities such as public sporting or entertainment events occurring between 5.00 AM and 12 noon on ANZAC Day.

The ANZAC Day Commemoration Act 2005 was introduced by the previous Labor Government and as you will see in the legislation it specifically stipulates “ANZAC Day means 25 April in any year”.

I trust this alleviates your concerns and I appreciate you taking the time to write to me regarding this matter.

Yours sincerely

Peter Malinauskas

PREMIER