The Greens call for May Day to be an official public holiday in NSW

Today in Parliament, Abigail gave notice of a motion celebrating May Day, also known as International Workers' Day.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move:

(1) That this House notes that:

May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, is celebrated on 1 May every year around the world to celebrate the rich history of the organised working class and labour movements, to commemorate past victories and continue building the movement for more;
the commemoration of International Workers’ Day on 1 May was born out of the struggle for the eight-hour working day; stonemasons in Sydney and Melbourne had won the eight-hour day as a general industry standard in 1856, which set an international benchmark and sparked a decades-long campaign to extend the right to other industries, including in 1886 in the United States when hundreds of thousands of workers took strike action on 1 May;
on Friday 1 May 2026, workers and their unions marched through the streets of Sydney to NSW Parliament, demanding fair pay, secure jobs and justice and equality for workers everywhere;
speakers on behalf of various trade unions affirmed support for the campaign to make 1 May an official public holiday in NSW, so that workers in our state can have the day off to rest, reflect and participate in labour-related events;
1 May is an official public holiday in nearly 100 countries around the world, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.

(2) That this House recognises the significance of May Day, or International Workers’ Day, on 1 May every year, and commemorates the rich and proud history of the organised labour movement in NSW.

(3) That this House calls on the NSW Government to make 1 May an official public holiday in NSW.

5 May 2026

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Electricity is an essential service. But Labor and Liberal governments have sold off NSW’s energy assets and infrastructure, leaving us at the mercy of the private sector for our energy needs. The result has been soaring energy bills, with more and more people being forced into energy poverty.

A privatised energy system will never deliver a cheap and clean energy network - It’s time to take the power back.

As we transition to 100% renewable energy, we must learn from the mistakes of privatisation, ensure our energy assets are kept in public hands, and rein in the actions of private operators.

Communities across NSW have for too long been at the mercy of privatised power network operators who continue to put profit above people, acting recklessly and cutting corners without regard for community expectations.

Recent catastrophic power outages in regional NSW have made headlines for just this - in Broken Hill, the state’s only 100% privatised transmission network operator has failed to deliver a safe and secure energy network, leaving communities in the dark because of mismanagement and neglect in the pursuit of profit.

To build our case for bringing electricity back into public ownership, the Greens are calling for a public parliamentary inquiry into all NSW power network operators, their operation and corporate decision-making practices.

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The Greens call for May Day to be an official public holiday in NSW

PUBLIC ENERGY FOR PUBLIC GOOD - SIGN THE PETITION!

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