The big end of town has stuffed up on Australia Day again | David Penberthy

Yet again we’re reminded that the corporate world needs to reflect on its counter-productive role in fostering social change, writes David Penberthy.

There are two groups of people who deserve an apology from pub giant Australian Venue Co which floated and then torpedoed its “ban” on January 26 celebrations.

I am not talking about the people who put Aussie flag bumper stickers on their car saying “Love it or leave”. The people who wrongly believe that January 26 is some sacred, long-standing institution, as opposed to a more recently invented observation of something wholly Sydney-centric, namely the landing of the First Fleet in Port Jackson and the creation of the colony of New South Wales.

The two groups of people who deserve an apology are Aboriginal Australians who were wrongly held up as the instigators of what was nothing more than trendy posturing by white executives in the corporate sector, and the innocent publicans and staff at some 200 Aussie pubs who were blindsided by the actions of their owners.

Both of these groups were left to deal from the inevitable fallout from this politically correct edict from Australian Venue Co’s head office.

It was a reminder yet again that the corporate world needs to reflect on its counter-productive role in fostering social change.

Based on its track record over the past 18 months, it is now clear that one of the most powerful weapons for political conservatism is impertinent corporate activism.

Or to put it another way, board room poseurs are driving the average punter firmly in the direction of the status quo with their free lectures on how we should act and think.

We all know what happened with the Voice.

The yes vote was lost one painted aeroplane at a time as the likes of Qantas and Woolworths united in an orgy of preachy sentiment.

And now this week on another indigenous issue, the inappropriateness of a day of conquest as a day of unity, the big end of town has stuffed it up again.

Veins don’t come any richer in their hypocrisy than seeing a Chinese owned hospitality giant give Australia a free lecture about the wrongness of its national holiday.

Good luck telling anyone in China the truth anything about what happened on June 4, 1989, the day of the Tiananmen Square massacre. But when it comes to what happened on January 26, 1788, they’ve got some thoughts they would like to share.

“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 spokesperson told Melbourne’s Herald Sun last Sunday.

Cool the brakes. By midday Monday this statement was no longer operative.

Amid record online responses - some 1700 reader comments by lunchtime and a nationwide poll showing 3 per cent support and 97 per cent against the pub chain’s actions - a very large penny dropped at the headquarters of Australian Venue Co.

“We apologise. It certainly wasn’t our intention to offend anyone,” the same spokesperson said.

“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.”

As far as climbdown go this was Mal Meninga-esque in speed and execution.

Whoever the Australian Venue Co spokesperson is, he or she would have been keen to have a stiff drink late Monday, luckily with some 200 pubs to choose from.

Adelaide’s Hurley Hotel Group-owned Arkaba Hotel is pushing ahead with its Australia Day plans. Picture: Brett Hartwig

There’s a broader issue here that goes to the pressure the corporate world is putting itself under to appear right-on and politically pure.

At some point we drifted from the noble idea of corporations encouraging philanthropy and charitable deeds to taking ideological and partisan stands on contested political issues.

Think the mandated office Pride Day breakfast when you’re more concerned about finishing writing a report but realise you have to spend the first hour of your working day being addressed by a drag queen.

In the corporate world it’s known as ESG: environmental, social, governance.

ESG is a progressive box-ticking exercise most commonly run by the HR department or by stand-alone executives with wanky titles such as General Manager (Diversity and Inclusion) to make sure companies are acting with a social conscience.

It all gets a bit silly when you consider what some of these businesses actually do for a crust.

I am sure there are major defence firms in Australia which start meetings with a welcome to country, have a reconciliation action plan, are committed to reaching net zero by 2030 and ending the gender pay gap, and then spend the rest of their day working out how they can sell the maximum amount of missiles in the Middle East.

Drakes Supermarket boss John-Paul Drake with an Australia Day flag in his Wayville store in Adelaide after capitalising on Woolworths’ PC disaster. Picture: Brenton Edwards

And in the context of the Australia Day story this week, if you wanted to be a real cynic you could ask how businesses that occupy themselves by a) selling grog and b) jamming the maximum number of pensioners into their 24-hour pokie enclosure suddenly decided they’re at the forefront of social change.

Or as per Woolworths last year, championing the Voice while fighting in court to open a Dan Murphys in Darwin next to the alcohol-ravaged indigenous community.

It takes a special brand of genius to get 97 per cent of people opposed to anything.

This pub chain should reflect on the actual role it played this week in advancing the cause of reconciliation.

There was so much dreadful and baseless public commentary this week from people saying they were sick of being lectured by indigenous activists about the shamefulness of our history.

The key flaw with this assertion is that we weren’t being lectured by indigenous activists at all.

There wasn’t a single Aboriginal person within coo-ee of this dopey story.

It was the genius work of well-paid white people on Collins Street ticking off another square on their ESG box. Well, mission accomplished.

The funniest thing is that of the many great pubs caught up in this failed attempt at ideological purity, one is in my home town - and it’s called The Colonist.

Originally published as The big end of town has stuffed up on Australia Day again | David Penberthy