Several local governments across the country are moving Australia Day events from January 26 as a sign of respect for Indigenous Australians but what are Aboriginal councils doing?

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 29 seconds 29 s Palm Island mayor Alf Lacey explains why his community does not celebrate Australia Day. Download 459 KB

From meat pie-eating and spear throwing competitions, to celebrating culture through Survival Day or abstaining from marking the day all together, Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island councils have differing views on how to mark Australia Day.

Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council Mayor Wayne Butcher said his far north Queensland community had bigger concerns.

"We had this debate at the [National General Assembly of Local Government] in Canberra last year and it's dividing the nation," he said.

"[Now we are] seeing local government in Melbourne and Victoria talking about finding a date we can all agree upon. It's a discussion worth having but it's going to take a while to get a resolution.

"I'm more concerned with the death rate of my people in Cape York. We are burying people in their 40s and 50s because of diabetes.

"We could better spend our energy, time and money on the issues facing us on a daily basis."

Mapoon comes together to host a range of activities on Australia Day each year, including face painting and games. ( Supplied: Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council )

'We feel disenfranchised and don't feel a part of it'

The people of Palm Island in north Queensland have also make a conscious choice not to celebrate on January 26.

"The current date doesn't represent all of us. Palm Island is predominately an Indigenous community and it doesn't resonate well with us," Mayor Alf Lacey said.

"This is not about race, this is about us as Australians. We should find some common ground so we can all celebrate together."

Cr Lacey said he would like to see a nationwide discussion on the date of Australia Day, similar to the discussion around same-sex marriage last year.

Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey wants Australians to have a frank, open conversation about Australia Day's date (file). ( ABC TV )

"The date coincides with colonisation and for Palm Island, it had a devastating effect on our lives and our ancestors lives," he said.

"We should be mature enough to start that conversation and work together towards an agreed date.

"There are a lot of mixed emotions [on January 26]."

Cr Lacey said the people of Palm Island would celebrate the day "with open arms" if it were celebrated on another date.

"There's commentary about Sorry Day. It's about the destruction of children, being taken from their land and their communities, so we should not compare it with a change of date for Australia Day," he said.

"A change of date won't change the plight of Indigenous Australians but it will go a long way in terms of showing Australia is a mature country and that we respect the rights of everyone."

Meat pies, spear throwing and fun runs in Mapoon

The Indigenous community of Mapoon has created its own Australia Day traditions with a range of events planned.

Eating cold meat pies, throwing spears and peeling coconuts are traditions of the Mapoon community's Australia Day. ( Supplied: Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council )

"It's very important and it is what local governments do throughout Australia," Mayor Aileen Addo said.

"We've got activities planned from 8am until 1pm on the day [including] basketball, volleyball, a cast net fishing competition, tug-of-war, face painting and a competition to see who can eat the most cold pies.

"We'll also have damper-making and stew-cooking competitions, spear throwing and coconut peeling.

"At the beginning, we raise the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait flags."

While those in the former mission would never forget the pain caused by colonisation, Cr Addo said Mapoon was focused on the future.

"We don't forget but we're not going to waste our energy worrying about what happened in the past," she said.

"We're so revved up in putting all our energy into building Mapoon and what's ahead for us and our grandchildren; that's all we're worried about."