Have you heard about the member of parliament who couldn't find a bottle shop open on Good Friday? He blamed penalty rates. The real reason was Sydney's licensing laws.

Penalty rates get blamed for almost everything these days, which is odd because they've been around for 100 years. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry wants businesses that are closed over Easter to put signs in their windows saying it's because penalty rates are too high. If they are open it wants them to put signs in their windows saying they are employing fewer staff than they would like because penalty rates are too high. As it tells employers on its website: "There is a poster for either scenario relevant to your business."

Attitudes about penalty rates can vary according to whether you're serving or being served. Credit:Rob Homer

MasterChef George Calombaris wants us to believe they are making his restaurants uneconomic. Yet in the past five years spending at restaurants and cafes has climbed 36 per cent. Other retail spending has climbed only 18 per cent. Employment in food service establishments has grown at twice the rate of other employment.

When presented with these sorts of facts celebrity chefs and employer representatives change the subject and say that things are different these days - most Australians no longer go to church and the distinction between weekends and the rest of the week is blurring.