Kylie Lang: Has hospo giant actually reversed its Australia Day ban?
Australian Venue Co might be scrambling to save its image but it appears to have stopped short of lifting its ban on Australia Day festivities at more than 200 pubs and hotels, writes Kylie Lang.
Kylie Lang
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A majority Asian-owned pub giant is scrambling to save its image but appears to have stopped short of lifting a ban on Australia Day celebrations at more than 200 pubs and bars.
Apologising for creating “concern and confusion” - after being lambasted by a furious public - the Australian Venue Co has said it never intended to offend anyone.
The company, whose 80 per cent controlling stakeholder is PAG which is headquartered in Hong Kong, said on Monday: “We have been, and are always, open over Australia Day and we continue to book events for patrons”.
But in the statement posted to social media, there is nothing to confirm it has reversed its instruction to venue managers that they not acknowledge or celebrate the day.
Remaining open and booking events doesn’t go far enough or clarify the company’s position.
In trying to soften Sunday’s bizarre and ridiculously woke decision, Australian Venue Co has said its “purpose is to reinforce community in our venues, not divide it”.
Why impose such a ban in the first place?
“Australia Day is a day that causes sadness for some members of our community,” the company said on Sunday, “so we have decided not to specifically celebrate a day that causes hurt for some of our patrons and our team”.
Wurundjeri elder Ian Hunter described the ban as “condescending” while Indigenous leader Warren Mundine urged Australians to boycott the pubs to “piss these bastards off”.
Among them are the Regatta, Everton Park, Boundary and Wickham hotels and Friday’s Riverside in the Brisbane CBD.
For as long as Australia Day is held on January 26, then our pubs – which are focal points of our many splendid and diverse communities – should mark the occasion as they’ve done for decades.
If you don’t want to take part, don’t. It’s as simple as that.
Australian Venue Co’s statement on Instagram:
“We can see that our comments on the weekend have caused both concern and confusion,” it read.
“We sincerely regret that – our purpose is to reinforce community in our venues, not divide it.
“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 9,600 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.”
kylie.lang@news.com.au
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