Normally I tune out to this annual debate since it feels so polarised and stale, but the messaging from Woolworths, Cricket Australia, the Australian Open and others this year suggests big companies are concerned about an attitude shift within Australian society. It seems they’ve decided the inevitable backlash is now worth it because the silent majority has begun leaning in favour of change.
Is this just a natural result of this being the first post-referendum Australia Day or is there a longer-term change unfolding here?
Well if less people care for it, those companies would also have less reason to do it, no?
https://www.9news.com.au/national/woolworths-boss-defends-decision-on-stocking-australia-day-merchandise/b0e75afc-6b06-47c1-b817-36c1ab57e42d
They don’t want to get caught in the middle. If it were just declining sales, they’d gradually fade it out.
But they don’t want turn off people who are upset by it, and they’re not invested in selling it, especially given declining sales, so they silently remove it in one go. Then when they get caught up in the middle of it anyway, they claim it’s just declining sales, because literally anything else will make them the centre of a news cycle about a topic they’re trying to stay out of
In the case of Woolworths, yes, but I’m not sure rising ambivalence is the reason why sporting events are avoiding it. In this situation, outcry following change is generally louder than outcry for change so it would make more sense to just proceed as usual if ambivalence was actually the consideration here. Either way, diminishing support for Australia Day will only strengthen the cause of its detractors.