A STATEMENT by a major hospitality group, that it would not be celebrating Australia Day, in January, has sent people into a spin.
Australian Venue Co. owns the Jubilee Tavern, in Jubilee Pocket, the Airlie Beach Hotel, and the Reef Gateway Hotel, in Cannonvale.
The company said in a statement on the weekend:
‘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.’
Australian Venue Co owns about 200 pubs and bars across the country, including about 90 venues in Queensland.
The news that it would not be marking the national day sent patrons into a frenzy.
However, their axing of celebrations on Australia Day seems to have also rattled the company itself, who appear to ‘regret’ their comments.
A spokesperson for Australian Venue Co. today issued the following statement, apologising for their comments:
‘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.
‘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.’
It is still not clear, at the time of publication, whether the company is, or is not, celebrating Australia Day at their venues.
At the start of this year, Woolworths and Aldi decided not to stock Australia Day merchandise in its stores ahead of the January 26 public holiday. 
In the wake of the decision, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton suggested shoppers should ‘boycott Woolworths’ over the move.
Multiple local councils have also dropped Australia Day events as attitudes shift on holding commemorations on January 26.
