Inspiring people can be found down every Dubbo street, says Australia Day ambassador Peter Gibbs.
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Mr Gibbs has lived in Dubbo since 2001. He is the founder of the Indigenous Police Recruiting Our Way (IPROWD) program.
IPROWD is run in partnership with the NSW Police Force and TAFE NSW. It aims to help Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people to get the skills and confidence needed for a career in the police force.
Mr Gibbs will address the crowd at the Dubbo Australia Day celebrations in Victoria Park on Sunday morning.
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While his experiences starting the program will make up part of Mr Gibbs' Australia Day address, he will also be speaking about some of his closest friends who have only recently become Australian citizens and yet have gone on to do incredible things.
"We've got so much to celebrate in this country and so much to be grateful for," Mr Gibbs said.
"You've only got to turn on the telly and watch the stories to see what countries deal with. Some of these places are where my friends are from and I weep for these people."
Mr Gibbs said he had a friend who cried at the airport when he had to leave Australia for his home in Papua New Guinea.
But in Australia, we're lucky, he says.
"There are so many conversations about Australia Day and changing the date, but just look at it from a different perspective. It's a country we have to celebrate," he said.
"We should be very, very happy for where we live. While it's not perfect, no country is perfect, no community is perfect."
The ambassador said one of his goals was to inspire others in the community.
"For Aboriginal people, I want to say 'be proud of who you are, you have nothing to be ashamed of'. We have to lift our heads up. There are lots of challenges but we need to lift our heads up and be proud," Mr Gibbs said.
For Mr Gibbs, the idea of becoming an ambassador grew from when he was first recognised for his community work in Bourke. He was the first Aboriginal person to be acknowledged in their Australia Day celebrations when he was announced as Young Citizen of the Year.
Mr Gibbs said bettering the world started with everyone in Dubbo working together.
"I take all issues for our community very seriously, whether they're farmers, Aboriginal people, far western communities or the other side of Dubbo. There's so much hurt in our community," he said.