An Australian politician is copping an absolute roasting after not supporting the call for a national holiday if the Matildas win the Women’s World Cup.
While appearing on ABC’s Insiders, Nationals party leader David Littleproud said while he’s happy to sport the green adnd gold colours in the stands, he believes a public holiday would cost businesses too much.
“I don’t want to be captain killjoy on this, but I think business has a point here,” he told the TV program.
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“It’s easy to call for a national holiday when someone else is paying for it. I’m proud of the Matildas and every Australian is, and we’re going to be riding it home … but I think we’ve got to understand that someone has got to foot the bill.
“And businesses are doing it tough. We live in a great nation, but we have to pay our bills and make sure the country keeps going.”
As you guessed, many weren’t too impressed with his remarks - captain killjoy, indeed.
One person wrote: “Bro we literally have public holidays for the day BEFORE the AFL grand final and for every Melbourne Cup, but we can’t have one for winning a World Cup?”
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Another slammed: “If [we] have public holidays for the monarchy that does f**k all for us, then we can have a public holiday for a team that has helped bring in a s**t tonne of money to this country!”
A third said: “How out of touch can a politician be to *oppose* a holiday lol.”
While another commented: “The appropriately named Littleproud.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been hyping the idea of a national holiday for quite some time.
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Last month he told ABC Radio: “The states are in charge of public holidays … but I tell you what, it will be a time where we should celebrate as a nation if we win the World Cup.”
Over the weekend, Mr Albanese also refuted claims that a national holiday would be ‘unprofitable’, adding it would benefit the economy, as per Fox Sports.
The New South Wales Premier Chris Minns also backed his idea.
However, Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Greg Harford echoed a similar sentiment to Mr Littlepround.
"Look, if the Matildas win the World Cup, then obviously we have to celebrate, but doing that through a public holiday will probably not be great for business," he told ABC News.
Charisa Bossinakis