Tony Abbott has raised concerns about the availability of cheap alcohol in Alice Springs during his visit to the town.

The Opposition Leader toured the town camps with Aboriginal leaders today and discussed the town's problems with Mayor Damien Ryan.

Mr Abbott says alcohol retailers have a role to play by not serving people who are clearly alcoholics.

"The quantities that are sold, the condition of the people to whom alcohol is being sold needs to be taken into account and I certainly would urge people to do so - everyone involved in the business of alcohol retailing," he said.

He says the current alcohol restrictions in Alice Springs need to be enforced before he would consider making them more strict.

"Last time I was on a camp back in February I was knee-deep in beer cans. That is obviously evidence that the existing restrictions aren't being upheld," he said.

Opposition Indigenous affairs spokesman Senator Nigel Scullion says alcohol bans have been in place for years in Alice Springs town camps but they are not enforced.

He has also urged retailers to take a small hit in profits by pulling dangerously cheap alcohol off their shelves.

"The people who are selling alcohol in Alice Springs do not have to wait to legislate to take those cheaper and more dangerous alcohol off the shelves," he said.

"They can react independently and they should look once again to their social consciences.

"The level of impact on their profitability will be absolutely negligible but the impact it will make on the social structure of Alice Springs will be huge."

Mr Abbott says the leaders of both major parties could reduce Indigenous disadvantage by getting personally engaged in the issue.

He says his invitation to Prime Minister Julia Gillard to join him in Alice Springs was an attempt to get her as involved in tackling Indigenous disadvantage as he is.

"If the two of us were both engaged then obviously this would become very much an urgent national priority. I think it should be," Mr Abbott said.

But Ms Gillard is heading to London to attend the royal wedding.

'Second intervention'

Earlier today, Mr Abbott visited Aboriginal town camps with the head of the Northern Territory's Indigenous Advisory Council, Bess Price, and independent politician Alison Anderson.

He says they are both vigorous advocates of Indigenous people's rights and they have not lost sight of the change that is needed in their communities.

Mr Abbott also met with about 30 traditional owners in Alice Springs to discuss his proposed "second intervention".

On Macquarie Radio, Mr Abbott said he believed better Indigenous leaders were helping to push a shift in attitude.

"There are serious Indigenous leaders who have woken up to the fact that if the kids do not go to school and if the adults do not go to work, and if the ordinary law isn't enforced, there is no future for their people," he said.

Mr Abbott said he would discuss potential changes to a remote Aboriginal jobs program.

He said the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) program, under which remote residents are given extra welfare payments for specific projects, could help.

But he said the program needs to change so it pays only for work completed.

"CDEP, for all its faults, does have a useful role to play, as a transition, provided it is a no-work, no-pay operation," he said.

"That's been the problem."