A pub and hotel chain has quickly backtracked just hours after announcing Australia Day parties would be banned at its 200 venues across the nation.
Australian Venue Co said it was not allowing the celebrations because of the supposed “sadness” and “hurt” caused by the national celebration.
Australia Day is a public holiday held annually on Jan. 26 to commemorate the arrival of the First Fleet from Great Britain in 1788, which marked the beginning of European colonisation of the continent.
While some argue the day is an important national celebration of Australia’s values, there have been calls from some corners—particularly amid the global cancel culture push—to change the date as it could be deemed offensive to Indigenous people—protest groups may sometimes call it “Invasion Day” instead.
Following revelations of their decision on Dec. 2—and the community blowback—Australian Venue Co issued a follow-up statement to overturn the move.
“We can see that our comments on the weekend have caused both concern and confusion,” the statement read.
“We sincerely regret that—our purpose is to reinforce community in our venues, not divide it.”
Australian Venue Co said it did not intend to offend Australians.
“It is not for us to tell anyone whether or how to celebrate Australia Day,” the statement said.
“We acknowledge that and we apologise for our comments.
“It certainly wasn’t our intention to offend anyone.”
The company acknowledged it served a wide section of communities.
“We employ 9,600 people across the country. And we welcome 15 million patrons each year to our venues,” the statement said.
“Across our community of team members and patrons, many different views are held and we acknowledge that.”
The group said it would be overturning its decision not to allow Australia Day parties.
“Whether you choose to celebrate Australia Day or not, everyone is welcome in our pubs, always,” the statement said.
Push for Date Change
A University of South Australia survey of 559 Australians conducted in May showed 67 percent of participants said they were unbothered about when Australia Day was celebrated, saying young Australians had a “different version of Australian history.”However, a 2019 poll by the Australian National University showed 70 percent of people supported keeping the current date, while a 2022 Institute of Public Affairs survey showed 65 percent in favour.
IPA researcher Brianna McKee said much of the reluctance to stand by tradition stemmed from the education system.
“One need only look around to see the fallacy of such a message; we live in a society that upholds freedom and fairness, and one in which all of the cultures from which we stem are celebrated—not least the Indigenous.”
