NOOSA businesses already figuring the added cost of having four days of Christmas break this year followed by a double dose of New Year's holiday, will be financially impacted the State Government's latest "gift".

According to Noosa Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Carl Beck, this retrograde legislation was "just another kick in the guts" to businesses struggling to find around $3000 a year to pay for the new commercial waste reduction levy.

Mr Beck said all these extra holidays on top of the refuse levy that local councils will pass on to business, would create major cost imposts for the lifeblood of Noosa's economy - small business.

He said having to pay extra staff rates for holidays was just the sort of financial hit, tourism-based businesses could not afford as the public continues to tighten belts.

"With the Labor Government's taking penalty rates back to the 1980s, these extra holidays are the last thing local businesses need," Mr Beck said.

State Parliament has just passed the Holiday and Other Legislation Amendment Bill that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland claims will add a $342 million liability to the state's business bottom line.

CCIQ president David Goodwin described the changes as "anti-business" and said he was disappointed both sides of politics supported the extra time off.

"At the stroke of a pen, the Queensland Parliament has created a one-off $342 million liability for Queensland employers in wages paid for no productive return," Mr Goodwin said.

The CCIQ did not share Industrial Relations Minister Cameron Dick's positively cheery spin on the extra leisure time that business would have to cover - starting with the extra days' holidays due to Christmas and New Year falling on Sundays over this holiday period.

Mr Dick said the amendments to the Act allowed extra public holidays to be allocated when Christmas, Boxing or New Year's days fall on a weekend.

"Previously, if a public holiday such as Christmas Day fell on a weekend, the next available working day was allocated a public holiday," he said.

"Unfortunately this meant those working on the day itself were not entitled to public holiday penalty rates and that just wasn't fair.

"These changes ensure workers are paid fairly and appropriately for working on these important holidays."

Mr Dick said with Christmas Day and New Year's Day falling on Sundays this holiday season, these changes have been made in time to ensure people working on the actual day are paid their entitlements.

"These changes will be accompanied by the extension of the Easter state school holidays to two weeks from next year, providing more opportunities for families to spend time together and opening up opportunities for the tourism industry."

The minister said the new laws also allowed the Queen's Birthday public holiday to be shifted to October from next year and the addition of a special holiday to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in June 2012.

"Moving the Queen's Birthday ensures hard-working Queenslanders and their families get a well-deserved break later in the year," Mr Dick said.

"A one-off Queen's Diamond Jubilee holiday will allow community and sporting events planned for the June long weekend to continue next year without disruption."

Mr Goodwin said an overwhelming majority (96 %) of 1100 businesses surveyed by CCIQ are supportive of the State Government moving, not adding, a public holiday to the second half of the year to alleviate disruption caused by the current concentration in the first half.

"Instead of an additional public holiday in 2012, a transition period should have been introduced to provide a pathway for the Queen's Birthday to be celebrated in October from 2013."