Shorten plea to PM: continue gap work

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will use his Closing the Gap speech to parliament to plead for a continuation of the good work Labor started in government.

In a direct plea to Tony Abbott, Mr Shorten beseeches the prime minister not to start again "just because you can".

"Please don't go back to a blank piece of paper, just to enhance your claim to authorship."

It was the Rudd government that in 2009 set the targets for reducing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people in such areas as life expectancy, child mortality and school attendance.

Mr Abbott will table the latest progress report to parliament on Wednesday.

Mr Shorten will urge the prime minister not to turn his back on learned consultations, policy work, testing and lessons in the name of ideological purity.

"Please repay the trust and forgiveness that Aboriginal communities have shown by honouring the commitments we made."

Mr Shorten also will highlight the impact alcohol abuse was having on indigenous communities, comparing it with recent "coward's punch" incidents in Sydney.

It was not a problem confined to late nights in King's Cross, he said.

"In remote communities across Australia, grog plays a sinister part in domestic violence and sexual abuse."