The ACT Greens want money spent on Australia Day events to be redirected towards events held to mark Reconciliation Day.
The party is pushing for both the ACT and federal governments to stop funding and holding events in the nation's capital on January 26.
ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury has called on the National Capital Authority to hold its drone light show on Reconciliation Day.
The light show will include 600 lit-up drones to form patterns in the night sky of Canberra.
The only Australia Day celebration held by the ACT government is a barbecue at Regatta Point.
Mr Rattenbury said if the Greens won this year's territory election all money would be redirected towards Reconciliation Day events.
"Here in the ACT we have the nation's only Reconciliation Day public holiday, so the Greens are calling on the NCA and the ACT government to redirect any future funding for Australia Day celebrations to Reconciliation Day events," he said.
"If the Greens have responsibility for this decision after October's ACT election, that is what we will do."
However, the National Capital Authority is a federal government body. The authority receives a grant for Australia Day events and can only use the money on such events.
Mr Rattenbury said it would be more appropriate to hold the drone light show in May as it would be darker earlier.
"It gets dark much earlier in May, so in addition to being more respectful, moving the drone show to Reconciliation Day would enable more families to attend the show on a day that unites us as a community," he said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said ACT government spending on Australia Day events in the ACT reflected community feedback. He said this feedback suggested the ACT government spend more money on Canberra Day and Reconciliation Day events as the Commonwealth funded Australia Day events.
He said territory government funding for Reconciliation Day was about seven times greater than the funding given to Australia Day.
Mr Barr said the Commonwealth would not contribute to public holidays specific to the ACT.
"The National Capital Authority and the Australia Day Council has stepped up to provide nighttime events over the Australia Day period and we've focused our activities on a community barbecue," he said.
"More is spent on Reconciliation Day because that's a purely ACT government event so the Commonwealth don't make a contribution in large scale to the ACT Reconciliation Day.
"Australia Day is a national event and it's supported principally by the Commonwealth government."
The territory government spent $100,000 in 2022 on Australia Day events but this shrunk to $25,000 in 2023.
Mr Barr said the government understood the debate on Australia Day sparked a range of community views. He said this debate would continue until there was an agreement on an alternate date.
"We respect the fact there is a variety of views on this issue and this comes up every year and it will come up every year until some community consensus is formed on the issue," he said.
The ACT government has focused more on the promotion of Reconciliation Day over recent years. ACT Indigenous Affairs Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said last year the government had not applied for grants to hold Australia Day events.
"We have a role as the nation's capital but from our own perspective we'll mark the event in a much more low-key way and put more of our effort into Canberra Day and Reconciliation Day," she said.
Ms Stephen-Smith said the government invested more than $170,000 in Reconciliation Day with an extra $50,000 to support community events in the territory.
"Reconciliation Day aims to promote conversations about reconciliation and to create a deeper understanding of Australia's true history," she said.
"This is a day where all Canberrans are invited and encouraged to participate."
Mr Rattenbury has previously pushed the government to fly the ACT and First Nations flags at half-mast on January 26 in recognition of it being a day of mourning for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
He has also urged Canberrans to attend the Aboriginal Tent Embassy's Sovereignty Day march on January 26.
