Pub group walks back decision to ban Australia Day celebrations
More than 200 pubs were to be banned from Australia Day celebrations citing the “sadness” and “hurt” caused for some patrons.
The edict came down from the second-biggest pubs group, Australian Venue Co, which told its managers that nocelebrations or acknowledgement of the day would occur at its premises in 2025.
However, the group quickly changed its tune and now reversed the decision.
The ban would have affected popular pubs including The Esplanade Hotel and Prince of Wales in St Kilda, the Duke of Wellington and Garden State Hotel in Melbourne, The Colonist and the Parkside Hotel in Adelaide and Bungalow8 and Cargo in Sydney. Brisbane’s Port Office Hotel and iconic Regatta are affected.
“Australia Day is a day that causes sadness for some members of our community, so we have decided not to specifically celebrate a day that causes hurt for some of our patrons and our team,” an Australian Venue Co spokeswoman said when the ban was first announced.
The company owns almost 60 venues in Victoria, at least 90 in Queensland, almost 20 in South Australia and 10 in Sydney.
By the afternoon the company had apologised to its members.
“We can see that our comments on the weekend have caused both concern and confusion. We sincerely regret that – our purpose is to reinforce community in our venues, not divide it,” an AVC spokesperson said.
“It is not for us to tell anyone whether or how to celebrate Australia Day. We acknowledge that and we apologise for our comments. It certainly wasn’t our intention to offend anyone.
“We employ 9600 people across the country. And we welcome 15 million patrons each year to our venues. Across our community of team members and patrons, many different views are held and we acknowledge that.
“Whether you choose to celebrate Australia Day or not, everyone is welcome in our pubs, always. We have been, and are always, open over Australia Day and we continue to book events for patrons”
The initial decision caused wide backlash.
Indigenous leader Warren Mundine called out the move.
“The real reason is they just hate the country,” Mundine said.
“They hate Australians, they hate Australia, and that’s why they do these things.
“Don’t bother about having a drink in their venues, piss these bastards off.
“Let’s all just go down to the beach, chuck a lamb on the barbie with a few sausages, and get some takeaway from a (venue) that actually cares about this country – not a hater of Australians – and we’ll have a great time.”
Wurundjeri elder Ian Hunter, whose family celebrates Australia Day, called the decision “condescending”.
“It’s the urban lefties … the white people (that) are pushing for this,” he said.
“It is condescending, they think we are doing the best thing for Indigenous peoples.”
AVH, a subsidiary of the foreign private equity firm PAG, has recently been considered for potential divestment by its parent company.
Jonathan Jackson, 2nd December 2024
