There will be no Ballarat Show Day public holiday in the city for the next few years at least.
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Instead residents will have a day off on November 2 - Melbourne Cup Day - in line with the rest of Victoria after councillors voted unanimously to support a change of date.
The one public submission at Wednesday council meeting on the issue came from Commerce Ballarat, which stressed that almost 80 per cent of Ballarat business owners wanted to shift the public holiday to Melbourne Cup Day to make it consistent across the state.
They highlighted a study that suggested holding the holiday to coincide with Ballarat Show Day could cause losses of up to $700,000 on the local economy.
I wanted to thank the... society for their gesture. I hope businesses. do everything in their power to make the show an enormous success. This is a two-way street
- Cr Peter Eddy
Holding the holiday on that date reduced productivity, wages, and business opportunities, their submission argued.
The Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society (BAPS) has said they would not be seeking Council to declare Ballarat Show Day as the public holiday for the foreseeable future - at least until 2024.
Society executive officer Elizabeth van Beek told The Courier earlier this week they made the call to support businesses after the impact of the pandemic on the city, saying: "We want to help the community, and anything we can do to help and keep our event going successfully, we'll do."
Several councillors endorsed the stance taken by BAPS. Cr Peter Eddy said: "I wanted to thank the... society for their gesture.
"I hope businesses... do everything in their power to make the show an enormous success. This is a two-way street."
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The public holiday was also held on Melbourne Cup Day last year as the Ballarat Show was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Councillors are allowed to request alternative public holiday instead of Melbourne Cup Day.
Traditionally the Ballarat Show Day holiday has had greater community support, although a poll run by The Courier this week suggested that might be waning with Melbourne Cup day gaining more votes.
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