It’s fair to say the nation is buzzing with Tillies fever as we jump into finals week of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Well, a win isn’t the only thing we could be celebrating this week – NSW premier Chris Minns has given the green light to a public holiday if our golden girls snatch the win.
The news follows prime minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement last month that if the Matildas won the Women's World Cup, he’d do everything to lobby state premiers to declare a snap public holiday in all states.
Minns confirmed his support for the public holiday on 2GB radio on Monday, August 14, saying, “If the Matildas win the Semi-Final and then win the World Cup final, then yes we will pursue a public holiday in NSW.
“Not just to celebrate the victory but also to have a massive civic celebration and allow the Matildas to celebrate with the people of Sydney what will be an amazing, like, life-changing and unbelievable event in the state's history.”
The Matildas have already made history as the only Australian soccer team – female or male – to seize a spot in the FIFA WWC semi-final. Pubs will be pumping on Wednesday, August 16 when they take on England at 8pm, with the winner facing off against Spain or Sweden in the grand final on Sunday.
However, not everyone is waving their green and gold flags for the public holiday. Nationals frontbencher Barnaby Joyce questioned why Aussies should throw a party for one team's victory and not for others, like the Diamonds at the Netball World Cup.
Nationals leader (and self-proclaimed captain killjoy) David Littleproud also isn’t a fan of the plan, saying it would be too expensive for small businesses. However, the PM reminded him that the recent public day of mourning for the passing of Queen Elizabeth II turned into a big boost for the hospitality industry.
So, when can we expect the Matildas public holiday?
Minns isn’t spilling the beans on a date just yet, but has dropped hints that it would be within a week of the final (just not the day after due to strict rules around public holidays).
Double-cross your fingers for Wednesday – not only for the highly-anticipated Semi-Final, but for when Albanese will bring the national public holiday proposal to state and territory leaders at the national cabinet.