Frustration at 'ugly, divisive' Australia Day debate

The debate about Australia Day is becoming increasingly divisive, Indigenous leaders say. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

Australians need to listen, reflect and engage in mature conversation about the country's national day, Indigenous leaders say.

January 26, which marks the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, would always be a hard time for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Reconciliation Australia chief executive Karen Mundine said.