Come and visit us, Tony

He might not know who Tony Abbott is, but 10-year-old Cody Ward said the Opposition Leader would be welcome to spend a week at his small Kimberley community.

In his address to the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday, Mr Abbott said that if given a chance to lead the nation he would spend at least one week every year staying in a remote Aboriginal community.

Mr Abbott said if remote communities were considered good enough for Australians to live in, they should be good enough for a prime minister.

Sitting in the shade of a gum tree yesterday in the front yard of his grandfather's home at Cockatoo Springs, 25km south-east of Kununurra, Cody said the first thing he would do would be to take Mr Abbott for a swim in a nearby creek.

"I'd tell him it's deadly (great) here, going swimming," the Kimberley youngster said.

Sitting next to his cousin on an old camp bed, Cecil Ningamara said he would welcome an opportunity to show Mr Abbott around his country.

"We'd show him a bit about bush tucker and hunting," he said.

Another cousin, Quinton Newry, said he would talk to Mr Abbott about the social problems in the region.

"I'd talk to him about people drinking in town and getting in trouble, about getting them out bush and stopping them from drinking so they can live a good life," he said.

He said land rights was another issue he would discuss with a visiting prime minister.

"I'd tell him he should have a big meeting about land issues and get the whole community talking about it," Quinton said.