Australian Venue Co apologises after Australia Day cancellation ...
The company behind some of the nation’s biggest pubs has apologised and said it did not mean to offend anyone by announcing it would be cancelling Australia Day celebrations at more than 200 venues across the country.
In a statement released on Monday, Australian Venue Co said it was “not for us to tell anyone whether, or how, to celebrate Australia Day”.
The statement came two days after the company was smashed for its decision to ban celebrations on January 26.
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“We can see that our comments on the weekend have caused both concern and confusion. We sincerely regret that—our purpose is to reinforce community in our venues, not divide it,” they said.
“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.”
West Beach Bathers Pavilion in St Kilda, Melbourne, is owned by Australian Venue Co. Credit: Australian Venue Co.Australian Venue Co is owned by Asian Private Equity Group PAG, employs 9,600 people across the country and welcomes 15 million patrons each year to their venues.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the pub group admitted it was open to patrons celebrating the day.
“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,” they said.
“Across our community of team members and patrons, many different views are held, and we acknowledge that.”
The group confirmed that they would remain open on January 26 and said pubgoers were free to book any event for the day.
“We have been, and are always, open over Australia Day, and we continue to book events for patrons,” the spokesperson added.
The backlash began after a spokesperson for the pub group told the Herald Sun that Australia Day celebrations would be cancelled for 2025.
“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,” the spokesperson said at the time.
The furore comes months after Woolworths found itself embroiled in a similar storm after announcing it would no longer stock any Australia Day specific merchandise in its grocery stores.
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