July 23, 2014
The South Burnett Regional Council has set Monday, August 10, as the region’s 2015 Ekka public holiday to avoid reigniting a debate that erupted last year when it was suggested the Ekka long weekend needed to be “reassessed”.
Last August, Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said he thought having a long weekend for the Ekka caused an economic downturn in the region.
“On the one hand, it encourages a lot of residents to take a long weekend away,” he said.
“And on the other, it gives a lot of our local businesses trouble because we have a public holiday here on the Monday and then most parts of the south-east have their Ekka public holiday on the Wednesday.
“So if they do business with the south-east, they have to battle with two days every Ekka week when their phone calls and emails aren’t getting answered rather than just one.
“But if we moved our show holiday from Monday to Wednesday we’d fall in line with many of our neighbours, make life a little bit easier for local businesses and give the region a bit of a boost, too.”
The Mayor called for public discussion of the idea.
However, this invitation quickly provoked an avalanche of opinions – in this newspaper and on social media – most of which were firmly opposed to any change to the August long weekend.
So today when Council was asked to advise the State Government when it wanted to hold its 2015 Ekka holiday, Mayor Kratzmann wryly noted that fellow councillors “already knew his thoughts on this”.
But he offered no opposition to a recommendation from Council officers to select Monday, August 10 as the region’s Ekka holiday.
Fellow councillors agreed, and the vote was carried unanimously.
[UPDATED with correction]
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