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Anzac Day public holiday: ‘It’s not too late’

The NSW government “has all its priorities wrong” by not granting its people a public holiday next Monday in lieu of Anzac Day, a Greens MP said.

NSW Greens Industrial Relations spokesman David Shoebridge has started a petition to call a snap public holiday this year, it has 252 signatures. “It’s not too late,” the petition states.

No other state Greens branches have announced they support a public holiday on Monday in their jurisdictions.

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Anzac Day will be held on Saturday and will mark the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing; it will not be given a compensatory public holiday on the following Monday in any state but Western Australia and for public servants in the ACT.

Mr Shoebridge asked whether NSW Premier Mike Baird was so “miserable” that he “won’t give working people a week day off” for the commemoration.

Workers on Saturday will enjoy a public holiday, traditionally Anzac Day only gets a day off if April 25 falls on a weekday.

“Easter, Christmas, the Queen’s Birthday and Australia Day are all commemorated with a weekday public holiday. Only Anzac day is not shown this respect,” Mr Shoebridge said.

NSW Business Chamber chief executive Stephen Cartwright called the Greens’ plan “economic lunacy”.

“You can’t just decide to make up a new public holiday a fortnight out from the event,” he told Fairfax Media.

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