A day after official figures signalled that the country was moving perilously close to recession, the Australian government yesterday instructed its workforce to take a break.
Launching an official campaign dubbed “No Leave, No Life”, Martin Ferguson, the tourism minister,urged Australians to use up the average of 11 days of paid but untaken leave that each has accumulated. Total accrued leave amounts to 121m days, valued at A$31bn ($20bn).
The campaign risks reinforcing stereotypes of the work-shy Aussie, as did the quip of the former prime minister, Bob Hawke, in the wake of Australia's 1983 America's Cup win that “any boss who sacks a worker for not turning up today is a bum''.
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