NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has slammed Luke Foley’s call for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend to be renamed in favour of indigenous recognition.

The NSW Labor leader yesterday declared the public holiday would be  replaced with a day dedicated to “honouring the First Peoples of the State” if Labor was to win the 2019 election.

 The “60,000 years of indigenous history” would be the focus of the day.

 Barilaro says the move is a sign of a  “desperate” leader.

“Yesterday, he got it wrong again. He’s really good at using the wrong terms and picking the wrong issues,” says Mr Barilaro.

“There are many Australians who absolutely recognise that the first people of this nation were Aboriginal people. But if you want to divide communities, you attack some of the existing dates that are important to the Australian people, like the Queen’s Birthday and Australia Day.”

“We’ve got to stop this division.”

Barilaro concedes there may be some merit in considering a day where Aboriginal people are recognised.

“But don’t do it by attacking what this nation has celebrated since 1788,” he says.

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