Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Mark Stone AM said Victorian businesses cannot afford to pay for this public holiday, with many choosing to shut their doors to minimise their losses.

“Our position on this issue is unchanged. There is a huge financial cost involved with this public holiday and that bill is footed by businesses and taxpayers,”

“Businesses that open on the day are hit by the significant additional cost of penalty rates, and the ones who choose to close their doors are hit with a huge bill to pay their regular staff not to come to work,” said Mr Stone.

A survey by the Victorian Chamber with over 500 Victorian businesses revealed the burden of this public holiday on business:

• 83 per cent of businesses paid an average of $18,000 for their staff not to work
• 74 per cent chose to close rather than trade
• three quarters of those trading operated at a loss due to the impact of penalty rates.

A 2015 PricewaterhouseCoopers report, commissioned by the Government, found the economic cost from the grand final eve public holiday was up to $852 million per year. This means that after four years, the total cost to the economy will have topped $3.4 billion.

In 2018, Victoria has 13 full day public holidays, matched only by the Australian Capital Territory. Queensland has 12. New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have 11, while Western Australia has only 10.

While it is disappointing that neither the Government or the Opposition has committed to remove this impost, the Victorian Chamber on behalf of Victorian business will continue its advocacy to ensure the grand final eve public holiday does not become a permanent fixture in Victoria’s calendar, adding extra and unnecessary costs for business.