PREMIER SAVES XMAS

OFFICE BANS OVERTURNED

HE may be struggling in the polls but the Premier has saved Christmas.

Will Hodgman has reversed a management decision that banned Christmas decorations in Service Tasmania shopfronts.

Staff were told to take down the tinsel, remove festive clothing and even stop wishing callers a “Merry Christmas”.

The Premier says he has no idea who made the controversial order, or why, but reversed it as soon as he became aware of it on Thursday.

“There’s no government policy to ban Christmas decorations,” Mr Hodgman said.

“I’m not aware of where the directive came from but, as soon as I became aware of it, I was happy to see it overturned.”

Several Service Tasmania customers and staff reported decorations being removed and all references to Christmas banned.

Mr Hodgman said it was likely someone had gone too far in not wanting to offend non-believers.

“Perhaps that would have been a well-intentioned notion,” he said. “But I think we should just celebrate Christmas wherever we can and allow people to do that freely, including in Service Tasmania outlets.”

The decorations were going back up yesterday after the Premier’s intervention, a move welcomed by church leaders.

“You cannot obliterate a centuries-old tradition,” the Catholic Archdiocese’s Vicar General Father Michael Tate said.

“I will certainly be wishing the Premier a Merry Christmas, even if it is through the [Service Tasmania] call centre.”

Anglican Dean of Hobart Richard Humphrey agreed.

“At the Cathedral, we’re seeking to make Christmas great again and part of that is about being able to celebrate it,” he said.

“To try to stop, even at a community level, people wishing each other greetings of the season, peace and joy seems a very strange thing.”

Reverend Humphrey said there was no harm in letting other cultures know about Christmas. “We can be a little oversensitive,” he said.

“I’ve never been offended by someone wishing me something that I may not have believed in or had anyone react badly to me saying ‘God bless’.”

Richmond Christmas products retailer Paul Ackerley, of Lafayette On Bridge, said several government and council employees had bought decorations from his store.