Turnbull makes pitch for more Indigenous MPs

Malcolm Turnbull says a milestone for Australia's Indigenous people could be reached at the federal election.

At least 12 candidates for the July 2 election identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

"If six or seven of those candidates are successful, we will have parity in our parliament - that is, our First Australians will be represented in the parliament as they are in the population," Mr Turnbull said at a land handover in the Northern Territory on Tuesday.

The Liberals have the first Aboriginal member of the House of Representatives, Ken Wyatt, who is seeking re-election in his West Australian seat of Hasluck.

The party is also standing 27-year-old openly gay Indigenous lawyer Geoffrey Winters in the Labor seat of Sydney, held by Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek.

She told the party's official launch on Sunday that her party was offering more Aboriginal candidates than any party ever before.

Among them are respected Indigenous leader Pat Dodson, who is contesting a Senate seat in WA, and Linda Burney, who is running in the NSW seat of Barton to become the first Aboriginal woman elected to the lower house.

Mr Turnbull said cooperation between the local, state and federal governments and Indigenous communities had closed the education gap on Year 12 completions and ensured Aboriginal babies are living longer.

"(But) one of the most important objectives - in some ways the most important - must be greater economic empowerment," he said.

Kenbi claim more than about land

Malcolm Turnbull has paid tribute to traditional owners as he formally handed over the title deeds to one of Australia's longest-running Aboriginal land rights claims.

The prime minister has acknowledged the difficult, 37-year journey towards settling the Kenbi claim but has stressed it was more than just a battle over land.

The claim covers 676 square kilometres of the Cox Peninsula, west of Darwin.