On grand final Friday, the cost to pay Victoria’s almost 2 million full time employees not to come to work could reach $543 million for the day.

Over half a billion dollars could pay the salaries of more than 6,500 Victorians for a year. This waste strikes at the heart of efforts to improve the competitiveness of Victorian business and grow jobs.

I’ve spoken to many owners of businesses of all sizes, particularly leading tourism and hospitality operators, as well as a lot of employees, and to date no one feels this holiday is a good idea.

At a time when Victoria will welcome a significant number of interstate and international visitors, Melbourne’s CBD will be like a ghost-town.

Many businesses, particularly those in commercial precincts in both Melbourne and regional Victoria, will find it uneconomic to open on grand final Friday.

It works against our efforts to raise visitor satisfaction and encourage tourists to spend more.

The majority of chambers of commerce and business associations in regional Victoria continue to express their disappointment with the decision.

Additional wages for the retail, accommodation, food services and recreation industries can be 150 per cent higher on grand final eve. Coupled with the 50 per cent higher wages on the new Easter

Sunday holiday, the estimated cost to small business owners in additional wages is $105 million for the two holidays. 

The additional costs will also impact the health care, local government and community services sectors.

The two new holidays widen the disparity between public holiday arrangements across Australia. Victoria now has a nationwide high of 13 public holidays, compared to states like New South Wales with 11 and Queensland and Western Australia with 10.

Businesses throughout Victoria have contacted Victorian Chamber asking us to see if we can have this decision retracted. We’ll continue to campaign on their behalf to see these holidays are not repeated in years to come.