Rachel Lang
Australians are calling for September 22 to be declared as a permanent national holiday in memoriam of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen spent more than 70 years on the throne and died on September 8, following the milestone celebration of her Platinum Jubilee in February 2022.
Australia, being a Commonwealth nation, was granted a day of mourning for the Queen yesterday (September 22).
Now, it seems Aussies were so taken by the day off to farewell the longest-serving British monarch that they're now calling for it to be a permanent fixture to the calendar.
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One rather patriotic Aussie took to Reddit to share their grief after the Queen's passing.
"I struggled to get out of bed this morning. Yeah, sure I was bingeing on Netflix until 1am, but, like, I'm just really, really, really, really sad about everything that's happened," they wrote on Reddit.
"Everything's a trigger for me. I see her face everywhere. Coins. Five dollar notes. I don't think I'll ever get over it so I think we should have an extra public holiday every year in her memory."
They added: "If you disagree with me you either hate her and now's not the time to dance on her grave (save that for later) or you hate ordinary workers who need a day off or penalty rates. Don't be un-Australian."
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Another Reddit user took it one step further, suggesting a 70-day-long public holiday, one for each year of her reign.
"One day just isn't enough to commemorate the many, many things she's done for our country, like appearing on the coins, the $5 note, and hanging proudly in every Country Women's Association meeting room across this big, wide land," they said.
Another added a rather tongue-in-cheek comment, noting the Queen's seven decade reign: "I agree, of all the English Queens I grew up with, she was the best."
A third pointed out the disparity between the lone public holiday for everyday citizens and the massive mourning period for Aussie politicians.
"Still miffed the pollies get 15 days off but we get one," they wrote.
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Another chipped in with: "Let's do it every week. It's what she would have wanted."
A few raised the point that Friday (September 23) really should have been a public holiday too. That is, unless you live in Victoria and already have September 23 off due to the AFL Grand Final Parade. Lucky ducks.
But the original Reddit poster had some choice words for those non-Victorians out there.
Invoking the wise and famous words once said by former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke they said: "If you get sacked for not working [on Friday] then your employer is a c***."
So there we have it. Tongue-in-cheek post? Yes. But are Aussies really hanging for another day off to make a mega-long weekend? Also yes.