Right: Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart is against AFL matches on Good Friday, which, he says, `provides a window into values that are not controlled by consumerism, money-making or busy-ness'.
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Background information
(The information below is an edited version of the Wikipedia entry titled ‘Public holidays in Australia’.
The full text of this entry can be accessed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Australia)
The Good Friday-specific information comes from timeanddate.com “Good Friday in Australia’
The full text can be found at http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/australia/good-friday)
Public holidays in Australia
Traditionally, workers were entitled to take off a public holiday with regular pay. In recent years this tradition has changed somewhat. For example, businesses that are normally open on a public holiday may request employees to work on the day, and refusal can only be denied by the employer on reasonable business grounds.
The entitlement to penalty rates was eliminated entirely in many workplaces under WorkChoices; however since the implementation of the Fair Work Act 2009 and the modern awards in 2010,most public holiday penalty rates have increased dramatically. Currently, employees are generally paid at a penalty rate - usually 2.5 times (known as "double time and a half") the base rate of pay.
Besides designating days as public holidays, some of these days are also designated as restricted trading days.
Public holidays are determined by a combination of statutes, with specific gazetting of public holidays; and industrial awards and agreements.
If a standard public holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute public holiday will sometimes be observed on the first non-weekend day (usually Monday) after the weekend, whether by virtue of the public holiday legislation or by ad hoc proclamation. If a worker is required to work on a public holiday or substituted public holiday, they will usually be entitled to be paid at a holiday penalty rate.
All states have their own public holidays in addition to national public holidays, and in some states public holidays are provided on a local basis, such as Melbourne Cup Day.
Alcohol licenses in many states prevent sale of alcohol on certain public holidays, such as Good Friday.
Good Friday in Australia
In Australia, Good Friday is the start of a four-day weekend and falls during the Easter school holidays. Many people take a short vacation around this time, often within Australia. Others take the opportunity to spend time with their family or friends.
Members of different churches mark the day in various ways. Some churches, especially Catholic churches, see Good Friday as a fast day and people only eat three small meals and, often, no meat at all. Some people substitute meat with fish. Many churches hold special services and some may hold long prayer vigils.
Traditionally, people eat hot cross buns on Good Friday. These are small, bread-like buns flavoured with spices and raisins or currants. Some modern recipes add cocoa to the dough and replace the dried fruit with chocolate chips. All hot cross buns are marked on the top with a cross. The cross is sometimes cut into the top of the bun and sometimes made with a different, paler dough. Some people eat hot cross buns just as they are and others split them in half, toast them, spread them with butter, jam or cream and eat them warm.
A lot of sporting events are held on or start on Good Friday. The Three Peaks Race in Tasmania starts in the afternoon of Good Friday. This event is three-tiered, consisting of a section to be sailed and a section to be walked or run. During the sailing sections, all members of a given team sail a set course down Tasmania's west coast. During each of the running or walking sections, two members of each team leave their boat and run or walk up and then down one of three mountains. Other well-known sporting events that start on Good Friday are the Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race, the Stawell Easter Gift, a long distance running race and the Easter Racing Carnival in Sydney.
Public life
On Good Friday schools, post offices and many other organizations are closed. Stores and other retail outlets are closed. Some small or specialty stores may be open, according to local policy. There were traditionally tight restrictions on alcohol sale on Good Friday. Stores may not sell any alcoholic drinks and pubs may have restricted opening hours. However, there have been moves to relax the laws in some states.
Public transport services are often restricted or may not run at all. As many people take a short vacation at this time of year, there may be substantial congestion on major roads and airports may be very busy.