The Australian Prime Minister is facing heavy backlash following the announcement of a one-off bank holiday to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Anthony Albanese announced over the weekend that Australia will observe a bank holiday on September 22, following the monarch's funeral in London on September 19.
However, the news of this has quickly drawn criticism from the business and health care sector, who say that this announcement is too short-notice.
They say this will cause a huge disruption to their sector, especially where consultations and operations need to be arranged weeks and sometimes months in advance.
The one-off bank holiday to mark a national day of mourning for the late Queen has been slammed by the Australia Medical Association president, Steve Robson.
He wrote on Twitter : "Operations and lots of patient consultations booked that day, at a time when access is difficult. Thanks for dropping this at short notice."
He added: "It's very difficult to staff hospitals and practices at the best of times now. An unanticipated public holiday will make it very difficult to staff hospitals and clinics."
Meanwhile, head and neck surgeon Eric Levi also expressed frustration with the short notice of the bank holiday.
He said that this bank holiday is not doable for him as he already has eight patients booked in for surgery on September 22, adding: "We have 60 plus patients booked in our cancer clinic in the morning.
"I have 8 patients booked for theatre. Every single patient has waited weeks to months for their medical care. Every clinic and operating lists overbooked till December. What do we do for them?"
Dr Levi added: "For those who say 'stay open', remember that we need nurses, allied health, clerks, technicians, etc to run a clinic or operating list.
"If schools and childcare are closed, a lot of the health care workers can't turn up to work and health care won't run.
"Imagine if your chemotherapy was meant to be delivered that day and now there are not enough doctors and nurses in the clinic as they have to be home with their kids because schools and childcare is closed."
Other Australian companies - including retail - have also rallied in raising concerns about the disruptions the unplanned bank holiday will cause.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said it respected the decision of the federal government to "honour the passing of Queen Elizabeth II with a one-off public holiday". However, it added that the unplanned nature of the bank holiday would create disruption for many businesses, and impact them financially.
In a statement on Monday the ARA chief executive, Paul Zahra, said: "This event will create some complications for businesses with store closures and staff scheduling challenges, with many rosters set up weeks in advance.
"There will also be a small but unexpected loss of trade, and additional staffing costs, which may impact cashflows for small businesses."
Meanwhile, the managing director of Market Economics, Stephen Koukoulas, said that according to his 'calculations', the bank holiday would cost the Australian economy a whopping $1.5 billion AUD (£882m).
On Sunday, King Charles III was officially proclaimed as Australia's new head of state with ceremonies taking place at Government House and Parliament House in Canberra.
Throughout Australia, memorial events were held - including floral tributes springing up outside government buildings in Sydney and Canberra, and the sails of the Sydney Opera House - which Her Majesty helped open in 1973 - were lit up with the Queen's image.
Flags at Parliament House in Canberra were flown at half mast as a show of respect on Friday as the Australian Defence Force led a 96-gun salute at dusk, followed by an address to the nation by the Governor-General of Australia, David Hurley.
Most of the events are being coordinated by federal authorities in the Australian Capital Territory.
Meanwhile, federal parliament has also been suspended, and will now reconvene on Friday 23 September to move a condolence motion, Mr Albanese announced on Monday.
