Matters of Interest

Annual Leave

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (15:19): Anyone who has ever spent any time around me would know that I love a cup of coffee, particularly a good one. It helps me to be more productive and just get more done. I am not alone: I saw a statistic this morning that stated that 25 per cent of Australians have four or more cups of coffee every single day, and 75 per cent of Australians enjoy at least one. That is before you really even get to the energy drinks, where Australia consumes an ever-increasing amount, last gulped at over 130 million litres annually.

Why do I raise this? Perhaps it is just the coffee getting it done, but the fact is that Australia is a very productive place. Over the years, we have prioritised efficiency targets, KPIs and, frankly, just doing more with less. Wind the clock back, though, to about 1906 and the federal maritime award introduced an entitlement for workers, a notion of 10 days' paid annual leave. It was the first instance of annual leave in our nation.

This was a catalyst that led to other forms of leave being introduced in Australia, such as sick leave, maternity leave and, indeed, bereavement leave. Since those early days, annual leave has progressively increased. In 1945, as the Second World War came to a close, workers won the right to two weeks' annual leave. In the mid 1970s, annual leave increased to its present rate of four weeks for the majority of full-time workers.

Since then, though, it seems we have been drinking an awful lot of coffee, but, as recently highlighted by the member for Playford in the other place, the SDA Union, a union that represents retail and warehouse workers, recently negotiated a new enterprise agreement with Bunnings, IKEA, Big W and Apple on behalf of their members. In the agreements reached with these companies, their employees would now receive five weeks' annual leave.

That is a significant outcome for workers, and a result that shows once again the value of your union membership and making sure it is the first thing you do when you begin work. I am not making a call for a national application of five weeks' annual leave. Each employer should make their own bargain, but I do want to highlight that it has been about 50 years since the last increase in annual leave. Given that over the past decade we have not really seen wages keep up with the cost of living—indeed, some employers have actively campaigned to keep wages low—I want to take this opportunity to encourage corporate Australia to pay very close attention to the outcomes of these agreements.

I am under no illusion that paid time off from work does not come with a cost that the employer must bear, but I also believe an increase to annual leave is a good compromise between workers and their employer. If corporate Australia did decide to follow the lead of its biggest names here in South Australia, we would not even be the first nation to do so. Leading economies like Germany, France and Austria are already doing this. In fact, many of our hardworking nurses and firefighters employed on continuous shift rosters are already able to take five weeks' annual leave.

I believe that in the long term these employers subject to these agreements will see the benefits of their workers getting an extra week off every year, with the potential of a more productive workforce and, indeed, decreased stress levels and probably less sick leave usage as well. Our state will see the benefits too. Instead of reaching for a cup of coffee, workers may use the time to explore regional South Australia with family or friends, placing additional money in the coffers and hands of tourism and regional workforces.

They could learn new skills in the additional time they have, or just become mentally and physically healthier. The fact is that allowing people to spend more time with family and friends, disconnecting from work, will create a more connected state and a more connected society. With the pandemic now somewhat behind us, I think we all know the benefits of that.