The Friday launch of the “No” campaign in Hobart has been thrown into disarray after the host venue cancelled the booking at the last minute, telling organisers that the room was no longer available.
Wrest Point Casino gave the Coalition for Marriage the bad news earlier today, having on Tuesday received a signed contract and payment for the booking.
The casino regularly plays host to large events, such as concerts and boxing matches, with future bookings including Cold Chisel and UK comedian Jimmy Carr.
A Coalition for Marriage spokeswoman said she could not impute motives to the venue.
“Too often businesses who try to open themselves up to the ‘No’ campaign get caught in the cross hairs,” the spokeswoman told The Catholic Weekly.
“I don’t know if that’s what’s happened here. But I don’t want to make life more difficult for businesses (who are open to political launches). That’s what the other side does.”
The Catholic Weekly made contact with Wrest Point on October 4 and was told they “should be able” to provide a response via email, but no response has been received to date.