Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has declared the Indigenous Australian suicide rate is a national emergency.
The Labor leader made the announcement during a solo appearance on ABC's Q&A program on Monday night.
'I think it's a national disaster, national emergency.
'The issue of suicide is massive. But also the issue of our first Australians and the inequality of the lives that many of them live is massive. There's an intersection.'
Australia has one of the highest rates of child suicide in the world as the number of young Aboriginals who are taking their own lives continues to rise.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has declared the Indigenous Australian suicide rate is a national emergency
In January, five Aboriginal girls committed suicide within two weeks, including 14-year-old Rochelle Pryor from Perth (pictured)
So far in 2019, 56 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have taken their own lives, with more than half of them being under the age of 25.
Of that total, 14 were under 18, including two children as young as 12, according to The Australian.
Figures show 40 per cent of people who took their own lives before turning 18 were Aboriginal.
Last year, a total of 180 indigenous Australians took their own lives, with children accounting for one-third of that figure.
Mr Shorten noted his party and the coalition had committed to a range of suicide prevention projects, particularly ones aimed at young people, during the lead-up to the May 18 election.
He revealed Labor also had a unique idea to help make sure indigenous people received holistic solutions: making an indigenous man, Patrick Dodson, the Indigenous Affairs minister.
Mr Shorten has promised to instate Mr Dodson in the position, if his party is successful in the upcoming election.
In that case, Mr Dodson would be the first Aboriginal person to hold the position in the country's history.
Known as the, 'Father of Reconciliation', Mr Dodson entered parliament in 2016 and currently chairs a parliamentary committee that examines constitutional recognition.
He received the Sydney Peace Prize in 2008 for his work in the Indigenous Australian community and continues to push for justice and recognition of Aboriginal sovereignty to the land.
'Sometimes we judge ourselves by how many billionaires we have on the Forbes Rich List,' Mr Shorten said.
'I have a view we should judge ourselves by if we have great disadvantage.'
Australia has one of the highest rates of child suicide in the world as the number of young Aboriginals who are taking their own lives continues to rise
Mr Dodson released the party's plans for working with Indigenous people while speaking at Labor's campaign launch on Sunday.
These include creating a system of regional assemblies and a Voice to the national parliament, establishing a national Makarrata commission and local truth-telling programs, building a national resting place for the unknown warriors, and giving justice and compensation to survivors of the stolen generation.
The staggering suicide rates have also sparked a national campaign to tackle mental health issues and the suicide crisis among the indigenous community.
Gerry Georgatos, the former coordinator of the National Indigenous Critical Response Service, revealed he has met with families who lost a nine-year-old
