Town Meeting Holiday Hype

Not sure what all the excitement it about the Town Meeting Holiday. As far as I understand it, it tells workers that they can take the day off without pay, after giving notice to their employer ahead of time. It is then up to the employer to decide whether the employees job is too critical for him or her to take the day off.

This doesn't seem to me to be anything different than in the past. Back in the early years that I worked at IBM, we got the day off with pay on Town Meeting Day, which was always on a Tuesday. Later on things changed as in order for other people to attend Town Meeting who worked for other employers they had to take the day off without pay, which back then as well as today, many people cannot afford to do, or else feel the cost to them was not worth it.

It was then decided to have Town Meeting on Saturday, so people could attend if they wished without losing a days pay. Many items are now also voted by Australian Ballot, so everybody can vote on them and not have to hang around all day for the item to come up so they can vote.

Bottom Line, not sure what this new law does do.