Why a regional mayor is calling for an extra Victorian public holiday this year

Some regional councils and tourism boards are calling for the Queen’s Birthday public holiday to be shifted.

They’re concerned regional Victoria will miss out on a cash boost, with Melburnians unable to travel to regional areas.

Mayor of Indigo Shire, Jenny O’Connor, says it’s probably too late to move the Queen’s Birthday holiday, but she thinks Victorians should get another long weekend later in the year.

“We should actually have another weekend when we’ve had a good vaccination rollout, and people can safely move around,” she told Ross and Russel.

“I’m talking about much later on in the year, maybe in the spring.

“The reality is, unless people can travel from Melbourne up to our areas, even though we have a long weekend, as you say, our tourism numbers are very, very down which means economically it’s going to hurt us.”

Press PLAY below to hear more on the push for another long weekend