Have Your Say: City of Newcastle Considers Bringing Back Show Holday

9 October 2024

The people of Newcastle are being asked to weigh in on whether the first day of the 2025 Newcastle Show should be declared a local public holiday. City of Newcastle has launched a community survey to gather feedback from residents, workers, and business owners in the area to determine support for this proposal.

The survey seeks opinions on the potential economic and social benefits, as well as the impact on tourism, should the event day become an official public holiday. It will also explore how such a change might affect local businesses, schools, and major employers.

David Clarke, City of Newcastle’s Executive Director of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, highlighted the longstanding support for the idea of a public holiday. “Our 2023 community consultation showed that 84 per cent of respondents were in favour of a public holiday for the Newcastle Show,” Mr Clarke said.

He added that the Newcastle Show, which dates back to 1901, is an integral part of the city’s history and culture, and it continues to attract growing numbers of visitors since recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

City of Newcastle will be reaching out to local chambers of commerce, major employers, schools, and banks as part of the consultation process, particularly those that would be most affected by the potential public holiday. “If a public holiday is declared, it will apply to all workers whose workplaces fall within the Newcastle Local Government Area,” Mr Clarke explained.

Another option on the table is to declare the day as a local event day, a designation that has been used in recent years. While not a public holiday, it allows businesses and employees who have agreements in place to treat it as one.

The community survey is now open for input and will close at 5pm on 5 November. The feedback gathered will be presented to Council for review before an official application is made to the NSW Government.

The 2025 Newcastle Show is scheduled from Friday, 28 February to Sunday, 2 March.

Please complete the council survey online at haveyoursay.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Newcastle-regional-show-day-2025 before the closing date.