An application to make the opening day of Newcastle Show a local public holiday has been rejected but the Friday will remain a 'local event day'.
Newcastle council has pushed for the Friday of Newcastle Show to be a public holiday for several years, but the requests have been rejected by the NSW government and a 'local event day' declared instead.
A local event day only applies to workplaces where agreements or contracts allow the day to be treated as a holiday.
The Friday of the show has not been a public holiday for more than a decade, and a local event day has been in place for several years.
The community was consulted on whether Friday, March 1 2024 should be a public holiday in Newcastle. Of the 144 people who made a submission, 84 per cent supported a local public holiday and 67 per cent approved of a local event day.
The NSW government opted to decline the public holiday and approve City of Newcastle's second most preferred option of a local event day.
But Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said she would support the Friday being a local public holiday.
"I was a kid in the 80s when we had show day, I always went to the show on show day," she said.
"The show day was obviously cancelled under a former regime some time ago and it has been an event day now for a couple of years - I think Newcastle does deserve a public holiday and I hope those leaders in here work towards that."
Newcastle Show runs March 1-3, 2024.
