Gerald Power talks Australia Day, changing the date and Orange council

That changed on May 27, 1967 when a referendum which garnered 90 per cent of votes, clarified, for the first time, the citizenship status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.

All these years later and Mr Power has become Orange's first ever Indigenous councillor.

"I cried, I shook and I hugged," he said on the moment he found out he had been elected to office.

"I had a tour that day which was with people from Tasmania, Melbourne and Sydney. They were looking at me asking if I was alright.

"I told them I'd just been elected onto council. I told them this was my fourth time having a crack at it and the guy from Tasmania jumped up and said 'I want to be the first person to congratulate you' and he shook my hand."

Now a public servant, he feels mixed emotions as his city, state and country prepare to celebrate Australia Day.

"To me it means many things," he said of January 26, which marks the date the British Royal Navy vessels raised a Union Jack at Sydney Cove, called Warrane by the Aboriginal people who fished and lived there.

"It does reflect a lot of the policies that had been detrimental to First Nations people. It's a mixed feeling but at the same time it's still a feeling of celebration for all Australians, but how can we still move forward in reconciliation is the key."

CoreData surveyed 1292 people on January 20 and found "a generational and gender divide among Australians over the significance of the day and its position in the calendar".

Overall, 54 per cent of respondents said they planned to mark the occasion, with 30 per cent saying they would be celebrating the history and achievements of Australia and 15 per cent "just because it was a public holiday".

More than two-thirds of respondents aged 26 and under say they won't be celebrating on January 26, with just over 30 per cent saying they will.

But more than 80 per cent of them support moving the date for the sake of improving relations with the Indigenous population, as do more than 70 per cent of those aged 27 to 41.

Support for change dropped among older respondents, with just over 30 per cent of those 56 to 75 and 25 per cent of those older supporting a change in date. Men were less likely to support changing the date or having a holiday to reflect on Australian and Aboriginal history than women and were more likely to celebrate Australia Day.

Mr Power, who would be in favour of changing the date should the option present itself, noted there had been "quite a large shift" in the younger generation who "have noted the treatment of First Nations people".

"They have been educated around this sought of stuff and are definitely supportive," he added.

"I suppose if I could put it out there, I would say within the next two decades there will be something that will be there, whether that's in my time or not, there will be something there that will probably change."

Regardless of how people felt right now, Mr Power said people from all backgrounds couldn't lose track of how to make the day more inclusive.

"It's great that I'm now on council here on Orange and I've noted that there are multiple Aboriginal people that have been voted onto local councils across NSW, so we will all have a voice in what that day will look like inside those regions," he said.

"It's going to be quite interesting. I would definitely like to have more inclusiveness for Aboriginal people being a part of that day and the celebration of these wonderful people that will become Australian citizens."

Mr Power said that for many Indigenous Australians - including those elders who were part of the Stolen Generation - Australia Day feels like "a day of torment" for them.

"People are becoming more aware and have a deeper empathy for First Nations people and now have a greater understanding why there are some First Nations people who are upset about that very day and call it many, many names," he said.

"I think that understanding has hit a core in a lot of these younger people who will be voters in the next 10 to 20 years."

With Australia Day to still be held on January 26 in 2022, Mr Power was asked what people could do to try and gain a better understanding of why there has been such a push to change the date in recent years.

He had a simple answer.

"On Australia Day, on this Wednesday, I would encourage a lot of non-Indigenous people to reach out and have a talk to a First Nation person and just understand where they're coming from," he said.

"They have amazing views on life and I think they will then share their story. Sitting with Indigenous people you will understand who they are as First Nations people."

As for what he hopes to achieve on council, Mr Power has a few ideas.

"At the forefront was the cultural heritage protection with things like the bike track. The document has come out that they're now trying to work their way around those significant places," he said.

"Affordable social housing is definitely a vital thing, we need to make sure we have those places and that stuff put together to supply the needs of our growing population and also how do we keep the water up.

"We could get to 50,000 or 60,000 people but we're still stuck on this water restriction and I don't think it will ever come away from that because the population is there.

"One of the things I would like to do and something I think is part of the reconciliation is definitely having a beautiful 'welcome to the country of Wiradjuri people' here in Orange. It could be beside the Orange City sign as people come in. I think a nice sign out there would be wonderful for Orange."

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