The Tasmanian city of Launceton will no longer hold Australia Day celebrations on 26 January, choosing instead to move it all up one day out of respect for indigenous people.

The Launceton City Council's decision means it is the second city in the state to make a change.

Greens councillor Tim Walker first moved the motion in January.  He now hopes the decision will bring "a new dawn in the relationship between Launceston and the Tasmanian Aboriginal community".  

"Until respectful talk that accepts truth-telling, recognises an indigenous voice of and creates a treaty, as a nation we have nothing to celebrate," Walker wrote in The Examiner.  "Marking January 26 as our national day will never create the inclusive society that the concept of Australia Day is meant to encompass."

Indigenous groups commonly refer to 26 January as "Invasion Day" because it's the day the First Fleet arrived in Sydey Cove to delcare British sovereignty over the land - despite the fact that people already lived here.

The Federal Government has been considering legislation to force local councils to recognize 26 January as Australia, although such a measure has not been moved in parliament just yet.