A woke foreign-owned hospitality company has apologised for banning Australia Day after patriotic Aussies vowed to boycott its more than 200 pubs and bars on January 26.
Australian Venue Co, which is controlled by Hong Kong investment firm PAG, said on Sunday 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”, sparking a huge backlash.
On Monday the company made a new statement saying: “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.
🚨 The Australian Venue Co. is a Hong Kong based company which owns numerous iconic hotels and pubs in Australia. They have banned Australia Day celebrations at these venues that they own.
Perhaps it was a mistake to allow these venues to be bought by an overseas group who…
— British Australian Community (@Brit_Aus_Com) December 2, 2024
“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.”
But AVC did not specify whether any of its venues would now celebrate Australia Day next month.
AVC owns popular pubs such as The Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda, The Colonist in Adelaide, and Brisbane’s homosexual-friendly Wickham Hotel which threw a man out for wearing a Trump to a Halloween event last month.
Anglo-Celtic advocacy group the British Australian Community urged its members to email the company “politely but forcefully” to let them know they were unhappy with the Australia Day ban.
“The Australian Venue Co. is a Hong Kong based company which owns numerous iconic hotels and pubs in Australia. They have banned Australia Day celebrations at these venues that they own,” the BAC wrote on social media.
“Perhaps it was a mistake to allow these venues to be bought by an overseas group who appear to dislike Australian culture.
“We recommend hitting them where it hurts, boycott these pubs and notify them of why you will no longer be giving them your service.”
Nationals Party senator Matt Canavan said on Monday that AVC were acting as “moral guardians”, while former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett said the decision was “divisive” and “totally out of touch with the community”.
“Australian Venue Co who yesterday originally planned to CANCEL Australia Day celebrations has officially apologised saying they got IT WRONG,” wrote Libertarian commentator Mickamious on X.
“Well done, Australia. Huge win! People power!”
Another simple said, “we won”.
On its website AVC has a diversity page saying it “welcomes all peoples” with a homosexual “pride” flag, a “transgender” flag and an aboriginal flag.
“Australian Venue Co. promotes a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion through programs like AVC Pride for LGBTQIA+ support, Her Hospo for empowering women, and a First Nations Committee for reconciliation,” AVC states.
“The Safe Spaces initiative ensures welcoming, respectful environments in all venues, reflecting AVC’s commitment to community and belonging.”
The corporate blunder comes almost a year after foreign-owned supermarket giant Woolworths sparked calls for a similar boycott by announcing it would not sell Australia Day merchandise.
Australia Day has been under attack by the far-left for many years, resulting in attacks on Captain Cook statues and two-tiered policing that last year saw radical anti-Australian activists storm major cities calling for the country to be abolished while a nationalist group was prevented from marching.
Header image: Left, The Esplanade Hotel. Right, Wickham Hotel (Google)
