Australian Venue Co has made the controversial decision to not do Australia Day celebrations at all of its 200-odd pubs around the country, and nationalistic pundits are not impressed.
Australia Day on 26 January is commemoration of the day that the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay, in 1788. Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack to mark the arrival of the British colonists.
For the same reasons, many indigenous people in Australia consider this the starting date for the colonisation and subsequent mistreatment of them by the British.
There has been a lot of discussion in recent years on changing the date to one that doesn’t have negative connotations, but Prime Minister Albanese has ruled it out (during his tenure).
Australian Venue Co (AC) is another company that has taken a side on the issue, mandating that there will be no Australia Day celebrations in their premises in January.
The group operates around 200 pubs and bars, and major venues – such as The Espy in St Kilda and Garden State Hotel in Melbourne, Cargo Bar and Bungalow8 in Sydney’s Darling Harbour, and Brisbane’s iconic Regatta Hotel – will undoubtedly be welcoming hoards on the public holiday.
After a rapid stream of negative responses, a spokesperson for the group offered that “Australia Day is a day that causes sadness for some … our patrons and our team”.
The issue has already prompted many other companies to adopt the policy, seen in the 2024 decision by Woolworths and Aldi’s to not stock Australia Day merchandise, which was met with calls to boycott the major supermarkets.
Similarly, over 80 councils around the country have stopped performing citizenship ceremonies on the Day, although a spokesperson for the Federal Opposition has previously promised that a Coalition government in the future would force councils to reinstate this practice.
Conservative commentators have slammed the initiative as another ‘woke’ mistake. Newscorp mastheads have been plastered with declarations that AVC has “banned” the celebration, while The Australian commentates that the group “apologises for [the] ‘ban’” and star muck-raker GemmaTognini instructed her X followers to “Check the list of pubs to avoid not just on #AustraliaDay but every day”.
The would-be ‘Rebel’ news even claimed there was “Outrage as Chinese-owned hospitality giant CANCELS Australia Day celebrations”.
And even Indigenous leader Warren Mundine joined the barrage of misplaced nationalistic rhetoric, declaring the ‘real reason’ for the policy is “they just hate the country”.
In the wake of continued backlash, a spokesperson for AVC sought to clarify the motive behind the weekend’s announcement and allay any “concern and confusion” it may have caused.
“We sincerely regret that – our purpose is to reinforce community in our venues, not divide it.
“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.”
The group noted that it has aways operated on the national holiday, and will in 2025.
“Whether you choose to celebrate Australia Day or not, everyone is welcome in our pubs, always.”
