August 23, 2013
An idea to move the South Burnett’s Ekka Show holiday from Monday to Wednesday has “gone over like a lead balloon”, Cr Barry Green admitted this week.
A discussion about the benefits or otherwise of shifting the holiday was held at the last South Burnett Regional Council meeting.
Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said the long weekend gave the region an economic downturn.
“On the one hand, it encourages a lot of residents to take a long weekend away. 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,” he said.
“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.”
At the time, Cr Barry Green said the suggestion was worthy of discussion but admitted on radio this week the idea was not popular with local residents.
“I think it has gone over like a lead balloon, to tell you the truth,” he told announcer Michael Monk on Radio 4SB.
“I’ve had more people complaining about that than complaining about the rates, so that will give you some idea.
“I think theoretically it was worthy of discussion but I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere.”
Cr Green said he believed probably only 10 per cent of the local people who have the holiday on the Monday actually go to the Ekka.
“The idea was to have (the holiday) mid-week on People’s Day,” he said.
“Those who wanted to go to the show, could go to the show – although why you would go on that Wednesday I wouldn’t know because half of south-east Queensland is trying to get through the gates.
“But we could turn it into a South Burnett day.”
Cr Green said a “South Burnett Day” to attract visitors to the South Burnett “could be bigger than Ben Hur”.
“If we sold it that way it would possibly work. But at the moment it’s not very popular,” he said.
Cr Barry Green said there would be no change with next year’s holiday arrangements.
Councillors have already voted to hold the Ekka Show holiday on the Monday in 2014.
- Related article: Council Wants Debate On Ekka Holiday
