THEY may be standing in the way of a half-year holiday next year, but they’re no wowsers, according to Goulburn Chamber of Commerce Rob Walker.
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“Most of the members (of the Chamber) like a drink, so the paper has got their headline wrong from the start,” he said.
He was responding to an article in the Goulburn Post detailing the Chamber’s objections to a new half-day public holiday in the lead up to Goulburn’s 150th birthday celebrations in 2013 (‘Chamber of Wowsers,’ GP August 15).
Goulburn Mulwaree Council - led by Mayor Geoff Kettle - was pushing for the half-day holiday’s introduction next year, but the majority of Chamber members chose not to support next year’s holiday at its most recent meeting.
Mr Walker reiterated to the Post that a half-day holiday was not as simple as it appeared.
“The problems with having a gazetted holiday is you can not be sure who it applies to,” he said.
“You would need to go through your awards and determine if your business or industry would be entitled to the holiday.
“The holiday could include schools, hospitals, aged care, jails, police academy, doctors … the list goes on.
“A proper investigation would need to be carried out to establish who is and is not affected.
“The Newcastle (Chamber of Commerce) did a study and found that for every 10 employees it would cost the employer $2000. Goulburn Mulwaree Council could be up for $15,000 of ratepayer’s money.”
As for Mayor Kettle’s invitation for the Goulburn Chamber to look more widely at other Chambers around the country where such holidays had been a success, Mr Walker cited Newcastle and Wagga Wagga as two examples where the local Chamber of Commerce had consistently opposed a half-day holiday.
Besides, he said, “The Chamber represents Goulburn businesses and will continue to make decisions based on what they decide, not what’s done in other areas.”
In regards to the Chamber’s concerns about the financial impact of the holiday on local businesses, Mayor Kettle said it was a valid point.
“Look the Chamber’s concerns are valid, and I’ve had discussions with Rob Walker about those concerns, and my response to that is that I agree with all of them,” Cr Kettle said.
For the full story, please see the print edition of Wednesday's Goulburn Post.
