The Australian Greens today expressed disappointment at the indications that a Rudd Labor government would do little more to help Indigenous Australians.

"This is a bit of a poor effort from the ALP. They had to do very little to do better than the Coalition – and that is precisely all they have done," said Senator Rachel Siewert today.

"While we welcome the fact that Jenny Macklin has announced some extra funding for Aboriginal health, in reality the ALP have only committed 5% of what is actually needed to close the gap to deliver the same standard of healthcare the rest of us take for granted."

"The Greens do not believe that it is right for the ALP to be pinching funds out of the Aboriginal Benefit Account and the Indigenous Land Fund to meet their Indigenous education commitments," said Senator Siewert.

"These are basic services that our governments have a responsibility to provide – it is not appropriate to be using funds put aside for the development and advancement of Aboriginal communities to deliver essential government services," she said.

"Kevin Rudd has said that, if elected, Labor will not roll back the Federal Intervention in the Northern Territory. This is a foolish commitment to make up-front to these unprecedented measures which fundamentally change the rights of Aboriginal Territorians," said Senator Siewert.

"We are already seeing signs that Mr. Howard's one-size-fits-all approach is creating chaos in some communities, and the welfare quarantining system seems to be causing a bureaucratic melt-down."

"The fact that Mr Rudd hasn't found the time to visit any Indigenous communities during his election campaign seems to be a clear indication of his lack of commitment to one of the biggest moral issues of our time," concluded Senator Siewert.