Peter Dutton has slammed a major Melbourne pub group under fire for banning Australia Day celebrations, issuing the business with a please explain over their decision, and urging customers to complain. The furore follows the decision of Hong Kong owned Australian Venue Co to ban Australia Day celebrations at its 200+ venues, before back-pedalling on its decision, stating it wasn’t its intention to “offend anyone”. The nationwide business will instead hold celebrations acknowledging the long weekend instead.
However, the Opposition Leader accused the business of profiting from the public holiday, and not honouring the wishes of a “vast majority of Australians”. “(Why should a business) reap a huge profit off the back of hard working Australians, when they would shun the wishes of those Australians? “Because the vast majority of Australians, particularly patrons going into some of these establishments, want us to celebrate Australia Day.” He went a step further and called on patrons to contact Australian Venue Co.
“I just say to patrons who know the pubs this company owns, I would encourage them to call the company and express their view and express that they don’t support this abandonment of our national day,” he said. “What other country, what other Western civilisation, abandons its National Day? We shouldn’t and Australia Day should be a great celebration of an amazing country.” Mr Dutton has been fiercely backing Australia Day in the lead up to .