Debate around the date of Australia Day swirls in the weeks leading up to the event every year with a growing number of people supportive of changing the date.

University of Tasmania Associate Professor and Reconciliation Tasmania co-chairperson Clair Andersen said January 26 was a divisive day to hold the celebration.

She said the vitriolic nature of debate around this issue was disappointing.

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"I just think there is a lot more education that needs to happen for people to understand why that date isn't appropriate. I don't know that we have spent enough time doing that," Ms Andersen said.

"We hear about it for a few weeks each year as we work up to the 26th. We get some media coverage and it is a very divided coverage - people who are pro and those who are anti. I don't know that we do a lot of education about why that date is not suitable.

"And also come up with suggestions about alternatives so people can seriously think about when is a good date for all Australians. I think you have got to have an alternative, which in principle people agree with and I am sure there are a few dates that have been posed in the past that I guess people need to think a bit more about."

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Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre campaign co-ordinator Nala Mansell agreed that the date needed to be changed.

She said over the past few years public support for changing the date has grown.

"[At] our Invasion Day rally down here in nipaluna/Hobart the numbers have tripled in the last couple of years. We are having rallies not just here but in Devonport [and] hundreds are turning up to those rallies," Ms Mansell said.

"I think the general public are calling for the date to be changed but it is the country's leaders who are lacking on this issue and falling behind the rest of the country."

Ms Mansell said celebrating Australia Day on January 26 was offensive to First Nations people because that date marks the start of the British invasion.

She said not only should the date be changed but more should be done to increase public understanding of why celebrating the date was offensive to Aboriginals.

"Thousands and thousands of lives were lost as a result of that invasion. Each Anzac [Day] and Remembrance Day this country stands still and acknowledges, and pays respect to, the many lives that were lost in wars that happened overseas," Ms Mansell said.

"Yet we continue to celebrate the people that lost their lives during a war that happened right here under our feet. The fact that there is a celebration of those lives lost but an honouring of the lives lost on Anzac Day shows that January 26 is a race based celebration and it needs to be changed."

The Examiner asked Tasmanian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Roger Jaensch if he believed the date of Australia Day should be changed from January 26. In response a government spokesperson said the government respected the wide range of views in relation to the Australia Day debate but, the debate was about a national day and therefore needed to be facilitated by the Commonwealth.

Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt said this Australia Day we should reflect on, respect and celebrate the Australian journey. He said it was a 65,000 year journey with many moments of success that should be celebrated.

"It is also a journey that for some is difficult, it is raw, and it does hurt in parts - but rather than shy away from this, or dismiss our success, we should come together as one this Australia Day," Mr Wyatt said.

"We have so much to celebrate - we have so much to be proud of - we should never shy away from embracing this. But we can take some time on Australia Day to reflect upon the sacrifices many have made, the challenges we have faced, losses felt and the adversity we have overcome to stand as Australians.

"We can also think about how we approach each other - through a lens of respect and considered understanding. Acknowledging and reflecting on our past while forging a new respect for the many chapters of our story will only strengthen us as a people and a nation into the future."

Mr Wyatt did not directly respond to a question about whether or not he believed the date for Australia Day should be changed.

Lyons Labor MHR Brian Mitchell did not say whether he supported changing the date but said we needed a national conversation about the best way to celebrate Australia.

"It's clear we need a respectful national conversation about the best and most inclusive way to celebrate our national identity. We've got a lot to be proud of, we've achieved wonderful things, but it's important we acknowledge, understand and learn from the tragic and more unpleasant aspects of our history."

In an op-ed published by The Examiner on Tuesday, Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson argued it was time to move away from celebrating on January 26.

"We must change the date as the first step towards reconciliation if we are ever to be a proud and truly united country," he wrote.

Some Tasmanian councils have moved ahead of the state and federal governments by deciding to celebrate Australia Day on a different date to January 26.

The Flinders Island council was the first to move the date in 2013 with the City of Launceston council following suit in 2019. A motion to change the date of celebration didn't pass the City of Burnie council but the debate was reignited last year by councillor Ken Dorsey.

Cr Dorsey moved a motion requesting the council ask the Local Government Association of Tasmania to approach the state government to lobby for a change of date at a federal level. The motion passed unanimously.

Invasion Day rallies are being planned at Devonport and Hobart on Tuesday with thousands of people expected to join the march to change the date. The Hobart will rally will take place on Parliament lawns about 11:45am. Meanwhile the Devonport rally is due to start at 12pm near the Devonport Surf Life Saving Club.

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