Public Holidays

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (14:36): Technically, didn't South Australia have designated that every Sunday was a public holiday?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:36): Technically in the legislation that is correct. If you want to be very technical, the changes to our legislation, if you added Easter Saturday but took away the other 51 Sundays, removed 51 public holidays. So if you are being very technical, our legislation has dramatically reduced the number of public holidays, but of course industrial instruments that have been brought in and enterprise bargaining agreements that have been struck have given the effect that they haven't been public holidays. But it is something that's never been tested, and that's why so many business groups and associations were so grateful that we moved to correct this anomaly, something that once again the ideologically driven former Marshall-Speirs government couldn't do, failed to do and had no interest in doing.