Australian Venue Co. (AVC) has apologised for an Australia Day directive to venue managers that caused huge public uproar.
Earlier this week, The Herald Sun reported that AVC had sent a directive to venue managers barring Australia Day celebrations within their venues. An AVC spokesperson clarified that “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 story was picked up nationally, with multiple media outlets, politicians and industry peers strongly criticising the directive.
Since then, AVC has issued a statement apologising for the comments, and reiterating that all patrons – whether they celebrate Australia Day or not – are welcome in their venues.
“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,” said an AVC spokesperson.
“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.”
