Labor pledges more indigenous teachers

Labor wants to get more indigenous teachers into Australian classrooms if it wins the July 2 federal election.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has promised 400 teaching scholarships for indigenous Australians, at a cost of $4.8 million over four years.

He made the first official announcement of the election campaign during a visit to Cairns in the Liberal-held seat of Leichhardt in far north Queensland on Monday.

"Whilst up to five per cent of the school population are from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, only one per cent of our teachers come from that same background," Mr Shorten told reporters.

The scholarships would be split evenly between men and women.

Labor will work with state governments and universities to decide where the scholarships are allocated.

Labor senator Pat Dodson hopes they will bring more teachers to indigenous communities as well as inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

"The importance of having models, indigenous models, in the classrooms encouraging young indigenous peoples to pursue their dreams and aspirations and education is so critical," he said.

Mr Shorten contrasted his plan and the opposition's commitment to deliver the full Gonski school funding with the government's tax cuts for business and middle-income earners.