Indigenous groups have welcomed some aspects of Labor's new Indigenous policy, but believe the party could have gone a lot further towards tackling social disadvantage.
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says if Labor wins the next election, it will spend an extra 15 million dollars over four years on community-based programs to combat alcohol abuse in Indigenous communities.
Ms Macklin also says a re-elected Labor government would set a clear target to close the gap in Indigenous participation in higher education and in improving access for Indigenous Australians to disability services.
But some Indigenous organisations believe Labor should have also directed more effort into community-based programs in areas like healthcare and juvenile justice.
Amnesty International's Indigenous campaigner and Tasmanian Indigenous Elder Rodney Dillon says he is particularly pleased with Labor's promise to direct more funding into alcohol management plans in remote communities.
Mr Dillon believes the current programs have worked well in Northern Territory remote communities because they are community-run and rely upon the support of Indigenous health workers.
However he believes it is critical to ensure that alcohol abuse programs also look at providing ongoing support for the victims of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
"It's not only the alcohol problem today, but the kids who now have got fetal alcohol syndrome- there is a whole group of people who need to be helped and looked after and we don't want them in the justice system because of the problem that's been put on them."
In the justice area, Labor has promised to develop a new target to reduce the over-representation of Indigenous Australians in the prison system.
It says a whole of government approach is needed to tackling social problems in Indigenous communities and this must include setting clearer targets in education.
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says a re-elected Labor government would develop a new Close the Gap target aimed at increasing Indigenous participation in higher education.
She says Labor would also set a clear target to improve access to disability services for Indigenous Australians.
Amnesty International campaigner Rodney Dillon says he believes education is a path out of poverty for many Indigenous Australians.
However he believes Labor's policy should have gone further in the justice area by investing more resources into programs to prevent Indigenous Australians from re-offending.
"There are too many Aboriginal people locked up in the justice system and there are too many Aboriginal kids locked up in the justice system. We need something to turn those kids around and stop them from turning into career criminals in that system. So I welcome anything that they can do, but we've got to improve on things that have failed in the past."
If it wins the election, Labor has also promised to spend an extra $5-million dollars over four years to help individual Indigenous communities come up with programs aimed at strengthening community and personal responsibility.
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says such programs have worked well in the Northern Territory community of Wadeye where the federal and Northern Territory governments work alongside the local community to deliver health, childcare and employment services.
The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation says it welcomes Labor's promise to direct more funding to programs which involve direct engagement from local communities.
The organisation's Chairman Justin Mohamed believes that needs to be backed by stronger incentives from governments to recruit more Indigenous health workers to provide culturally appropriate care to Indigenous Australians.
"I think the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce is a very important ingredient in closing the gap. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors, health workers and nurses and counsellors are all needed and I think that there needs to be a stronger focus on how we do this to ensure the numbers are increasing and to be able to have the pathways for local Aboriginal people to go off and do their university studies and then be able to come back into the community- that's very, very important."
The Legal Director of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Michael Mansell believes Labor has not gone far enough to consult with Indigenous communities on the policies that are best for them.
He says this is particularly true in the area of Indigenous incarceration where he believes a fresh approach is needed rather than setting more Closing the Gap targets which may never be reached.
"Unless the federal government takes the lead and legislates to restrict the judges who are dealing with federal laws from imprisoning more and more Aboriginal people by forcing the judges to take account of how many Aborigines are already in prison, then the imprisonment rates are going to continue to be higher."
