CAPALABA MP Don Brown has called on the community to have their say about whether the Redlands Ekka public holiday should be moved this year to accommodate a joint long weekend with Brisbane.
It comes after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that people's day would be changed from its traditional Wednesday slot to Friday due to the show's cancellation and in a bid to support the embattled tourism industry.
Mr Brown said moving the Redlands holiday in line with Brisbane would allow families to be together over the long weekend.
"Some families have kids that are at school in the Redlands and an older kid studying in Brisbane or the parents work in Brisbane and their kids go to school in the Redlands," he said.
"That means that those families can't share in the long weekend together and we can't get the full economic benefit of having a long weekend."
Mr Brown said a date change would also provide a benefit to local businesses as the third stage of the state government's coronavirus road map would be in full swing by August.
"That is why the state government made the change (in Brisbane)," he said.
"By making it uniform, it means we can ensure that as many families as possible can utilise the long weekend, whether it is for travel, business or play."
For the change to be made, council would need to lodge a request with the state government.
Mayor Karen Williams said she would be consulting with councillors and the public to weigh up the options.
"Historically the Redlands has had its public holiday on the Monday before people's day so local businesses could attract Brisbane residents through events such as Crazy Day, providing a local financial benefit," she said.
"Given today's decision by the state government, this is a chance to look at the local tourism opportunities of the long weekends - both Brisbane and Redlands - and how we can best benefit from it."
She did not say when the decision on the holiday date would be made.
Mr Brown is running a community survey on Facebook and said so far the vast majority of respondents had been in favour of a change to Friday in line with the Brisbane holiday.
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