Labor is calling for two Indigenous Australians to preside over a royal commission into youth detention in the Northern Territory, amid fears Aboriginal voices could be ignored.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten returned from one week's leave on Saturday to hold talks about the royal commission in Darwin before attending the Garma Festival in northeast Arnhem Land
Mr Shorten urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to follow his lead and visit the region in person to listen to indigenous voices.
"It is the children of Aboriginal Australians that are experiencing incarceration," he told reporters in Darwin on Saturday.
At least 95 per cent of young people in NT detention centres are Indigenous.
Mr Turnbull revealed the terms of reference for the royal commission on Thursday, just days after the ABC aired footage of brutal abuse of children behind bars.
The footage showed young boys being stripped naked, tear-gassed and held in solitary confinement.
One boy was shackled to a "mechanical device" chair before being left alone for two hours while another was tackled, lifted and hurled across a room.
Mr Turnbull has been criticised for failing to properly consult with Aboriginal organisations over the commission, which will be headed by former NT chief justice Brian Martin.
Mr Shorten took on the Indigenous affairs portfolio in a post-election Labor reshuffle.
"This royal commission has to be done with Aboriginal people, not to Aboriginal people," he said.
"Their stories deserve to be heard and they deserve to see Aboriginal commissioners hearing their story."
Attorney-General George Brandis and Mr Turnbull consulted two of the most prominent Indigenous spokespeople in Australia - Mick Gooda and Warren Mundine - in drafting the terms of reference for the inquiry.
However, acting Labor leader Tanya Plibersek was told of the terms and the name of the commissioner after the decision was made by cabinet.
