What you said about 90 Qld pubs banning Australia Day

The contentious topic of Australia Day is back on the agenda – and many aren’t happy. HAVE YOUR SAY

Brisbane’s Regatta Hotel is one of the pubs banning Australia Day celebrations.

Australia Day celebrations have been banned at more than 200 pubs and bars nationwide – nearly half in Queensland – sparking furious debate among readers.

The nation’s second-biggest pubs group, Australian Venue Co, has informed managers there will be no celebrating or acknowledging of the day at their premises in 2025.

The contentious decision will impact some of Queensland’s most popular pubs, including the Waterford and Everton Park, Boundary, Wickham and Regatta hotels.

The brand is also responsible for venues including Friday’s Riverside in Brisbane and Lulu Rooftop Bar on the Gold Coast.

An Australian Venue Co spokeswoman said it celebrated what made Australia great in its venues throughout the year.

An Invasion Day march in Brisbane in January 2024. Picture: NCA NewsWIRE / John Gass

“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,” she said.

The company owns at least 90 venues in Queensland, almost 60 in Victoria, almost 20 in South Australia and 10 in Sydney.

Its ban on Australia Day celebrations is the latest in a string of organisations, including Woolworths, abandoning the national day.

Australia Day remains a hot topic. Picture: Hamish Blair/Getty Images

Australia Day marks the arrival of the First Fleet on January 26, 1788 and the raising of the Union Jack in Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip.

But protesters claim it is a day of mourning for Indigenous Australians because it celebrates colonialism and genocide.

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine said the nonsense that went on in these “woke” companies was becoming a joke.

“The real reason is they just hate the country,” Mr Mundine said.

Readers were quick to pile into the debate, with many claiming they would now boycott these venues.

Others, though, said there are plenty of other ways to celebrate the day, while some remain unsure of what the future holds.

See what you had to say below and join the conversation >>>

WHAT YOU SAID

What a joke

Peter

The Regatta

Never again will I set foot in that place.

Disgusted

Staff should revolt and quit en masse

mark

If you go to one of these venues, be sure to wear your Aussie hat and shirt. Spent last Aust Day in Fiji. Awesome. All Aussie games, raising of the flag and played our anthem while saluting. More respect for our day from foreigners. What’s wrong with these fools??

Ron

I’ve already put a line through Woolworths from previous actions of virtue signalling. I won’t enter their premises, even if they had freebies.

Vincent

Simple, just avoid these woke establishments.

WILLIAM

Boycott these hotels.

Should the date of Australia Day change? Picture: NCA NewsWIRE / John Gass

No issue for me

Allan

I hope that they will cancel Xmas as well

Susan

It won’t worry me at all as we never go to the pub on Aussie Day because we have a community BBQ at the local creek every year. Any pub that closes on the day is simply going to upset patrons. Some people would prefer not to support such venues by for some communities this mob own most of the local watering holes.

King Matt

If you don’t like it then buy a pub and do a Aussie day celebration

Megan

Just stay home and ‘grieve’, don’t show your face or whatever else you want to do to avoid celebrating our National Day and pretend you’re morally superior to the great majority of Aussies.

Aussies are torn over the national day. Picture: Glenn Campbell/NCA NewsWire

Still undecided

NannaT62

Well, some will say they’re wrong if they do and some will say they’re wrong if they don’t. Seems there no way of being right.

Pamela

Talk about an own goal. If you don’t celebrate Australia Day you won’t be going to these pubs. If you do celebrate Australia Day you would not be caught dead in any of these pubs.

kim

Warren Mundine has the right idea--- just get out there and celebrate being Australian.

Chris C

The people who own these Venues are not Australians. Did some research and found they are foreign owned so no right to tell us what we can do with our nation day. They should just close their doors on that day.

Uncle Bob proud Queensland man

So if I go to my local on Australia Day, which is on the list, dressed in an Australian flag will I be ejected? There was a patron dressed in a Gaza flag there the other day and they were being served.

AUSTRALIAN VENUE CO’S QLD PROPERTIES

Airlie Beach Hotel

Barron River Hotel

Beenleigh Tavern

Berserker Tavern

Birkdale Gardens Tavern

Bonny View Hotel

Boomerang Hotel

Bribie Island Hotel

Brighton Hotel

Browns Plains Hotel

Burleigh Town Hotel

Cannon Hill Tavern

Capella Hotel

Carindale Hotel

Chancellors Tavern

Cleveland Sands Hotel

Cleveland Tavern

Club Hotel Waterford

Commercial Hotel

Commonwealth Hotel

Coomera Lodge Hotel

Crown Hotel

Currimundi Hotel

Diamonds Kallangur

Diamonds Tavern Varsity Lakes

Dunwoody’s Hotel

Empire Alternacade & Events

Enigma

Everton Park Hotel

Ferry Road Tavern

Finn McCool’s Brisbane

Finnigan’s Chin Keperra

Fitzy’s Loganholme

Fitzy’s Waterford

Friday’s

Grafton Hotel Edmonton

Grand Hotel Motel

Hey Chica

Hope Island Tavern

Hotel Allen

Hotel HQ Underwood

Inala Hotel

Jindalee Hotel

Jubilee Tavern

Kings Beach Tavern

Koala Tavern

Kooyong Hotel

Lefty’s Music Hall

Leichhardt Hotel

Lulu Rooftop Bar

Mango Hill Tavern

Mansfield Tavern Brisbane

Mihi Tavern

Morayfield Tavern

Mount Sheridan Tavern

Newnham Hotel

Old Bundy Tavern

Palm Cove Tavern

Port Office Hotel

Portadown Hotel

Redcliffe Tavern

Reef Gateway Hotel

Regatta Hotel

Retro’s Brisbane

Riverland Brisbane

Royal Hotel Nundah

Royal Mail Hotel

Runaway Bay Tavern

Salisbury Hotel

Sands Tavern

Springlake Hotel

Sundowner Hotel Motel

Surfair Beach Hotel

Taigum Tavern

The Anthill

The Boundary Hotel

The Club Hotel Gladstone

The Commonwealth Hotel Roma

The Kenmore

The Local Tavern

The Lord Alfred Hotel

The Mansfield Townsville

The Metropolitan Hotel

The Ox

The Strand Hotel

The White Bull Tavern

The Wickham

Tom’s Tavern

Trinity Beach Tavern

Wallaby Hotel

Waterloo Hotel

Woodpecker Bar & Grill