- The SA Labor government is removing references to Anzac Day in legislation
- Former Liberal MP Nicolle Flint has slammed the “un-Australian” move
- READ MORE: What not to say on Anzac Day
A former Liberal MP has criticized the South Australian government for removing Anzac Day, Christmas and the King’s Birthday from the state’s annual public holiday list.
Nicolle Flint, now a Sky News political commentator, called Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas’ Labor government “un-Australian” over the changes made to the Public Holidays Bill 2023.
The new bill replaces the old Public Holidays Act of 1910 and has controversially removed any reference to Anzac Day, Christmas and the King’s Birthday.
The dates for each are instead highlighted and the old list for Anzac Day is now referred to as ’25 April’, a day ‘established as a public holiday’.
Ms Flint fears the subtle change will have the same snowball effect as the Gillard government’s 2013 Sex Discrimination Amendment Act, which scrapped the definition of a woman.
South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas has been branded ‘un-Australian’ after his Labor government removed references to Anzac Day in newly introduced holiday legislation
Anzac Day honors those who served in world wars and has been commemorated since 1916
Anzac Day has been commemorated annually since 1916 and commemorates the sacrifices made by soldiers in the world wars of the past century.
“We have not made families endure the trauma of losing loved ones and dealing with the lifelong wounds of those who returned home, only to have the day we remember them become just a date on the calendar,” Ms. Flint. wrote.
“This is the history that the South Australian Labor Party is erasing.
“Labor appears determined to erase not only the one day when all Australians come together to remember our brave men and women and their families who fought for our freedom, but also Christmas Day, Australia Day and the King’s Birthday.”
Removing references to these three holidays, Ms. Flint said, will lead to a cascading effect that “makes it seem as if Western civilization never existed.”
Ms Flint (pictured) Ms Flint fears the subtle change will have the same snowball effect as the Gillard government’s 2013 Sex Discrimination Amendment Act, which scrapped the definition of a woman
The Gillard government’s decision to remove the definition of ‘woman’ from its legislation has raised several legislative challenges
Ten years after Ms Gillard’s Sexual Discrimination Amendment Bill, legal experts have debated the effect the law has had on previously non-mixed gender spaces.
The state Liberal Party voted against the new bill and tried unsuccessfully to add the holiday names back into the bill before legislation was passed.
The Gillard government’s decision to remove the definition of ‘woman’ from its legislation has raised several legislative challenges.
Ms Flint pointed to cases arising from men being able to enter women bathrooms, prisons, domestic violence shelters, and rape crisis centers.