A state minister’s call for Labour Day to be replaced with a day of Indigenous recognition is being criticised by a colleague.

Earlier today, New South Wales Veterans Affairs Minister David Elliott suggested we could replace the Labour Day public holiday with one to mark Aboriginal heritage.

He says the recognition of Indigenous achievements is a worthy replacement for today’s public holiday which isn’t relevant anymore.

Mr Elliott’s comments come a week after Prime Minister Scott Morrison floated the idea of introducing a separate day to celebrate our 60,000 years of Indigenous culture.

New South Wales Transport Minister Andrew Constance says his frontbench colleague is engaging in “unnecessary politics” and isn’t on board with his idea.

“I’m against it and I’ll tell you why,” Mr Constance tells Luke Grant.

“I’ve got a very large aboriginal community that I represent in the state seat of Bega.

“They are trying to look after their kids, create job opportunities.

“Obviously, given the challenges besetting the aboriginal community, everything from diabetes through the enormous health challenges and life expectancy, that’s where we’ve got to be directing our energies, not towards tokenism.”

He says the aboriginal community are focused on other things, including giving their children good nutrition and getting them a decent education.

Click PLAY below for the full interview