ELDER Robert Isaacs has warned fellow indigenous Australians they were damaging their people and causing division by opposing Australia Day.

In a speech to be delivered in Newman on January 26, the ambassador and former chairman of Australia Day WA council will urge Aboriginal people to “get past the hurts of the past”.

Dr Isaacs said the solution was to make Australia Day more of a celebration of Aboriginal culture and acknowledgement of the past.

“That’s what the true spirit of Australia Day and cultural inclusivity should look like,” Dr Isaacs said.

Camera Icon Elder Robert Isaacs has warned fellow indigenous Australians they were damaging their people and causing division by opposing Australia Day. Credit: PerthNow, Matt Jelonek

“We cannot change the past. We are damaging our own people, causing division, and we have to move forward together to get past this. You can’t go forward while always looking back.”

Rather than labelling it “Invasion Day”, January 26 was an opportunity for Australians to forget about their differences and focus on positive achievements.

“The hurts of the past must be acknowledged but they cannot continue to overshadow the way forward. And the way forward is for us all to come together on one day,” he said.

“We can participate in Australia Day by standing up and saying, we are the first Australians and today we are one of many who make up this great nation.”

Dr Isaacs is one of the Stolen Generation and left Clontarf Boy’s Town Orphanage at 16. In a speech in 2015, he called for indigenous Australians to embrace Australia Day. But he has gone further this year with his sombre warning.

The South West Noongar man has been scathing in his criticism of the City of Fremantle’s decision to cancel its Australia Day fireworks and hold an alternative celebration two days later.

Camera Icon Australia Day divide: "The hurts of the past must be acknowledged but they cannot continue to overshadow the way forward," says elder Robert Isaacs. Credit: PerthNow

Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt said the council had heard “loud and clear” from Aboriginal elders in the area that Australia Day was not simply a day of celebration.

“It was an opportunity for us to come up with a different format on a different day that could be truly inclusive,” he said.

Dr Isaacs said yesterday the council had failed its ratepayers. “It’s damaged the Fremantle community. You’ve got business people saying we have got to run our own fireworks,” he said.