Prime Minister John Howard has announced $1.5 million to promote better management of personal finances in Indigenous communities in Cape York.

Mr Howard made the announcement while attending an Indigenous land and health summit at Arakun.

He also announced $90,000 to help start a Cape York credit union.

But Mr Howard says he is not yet ready to reveal a broader response to the regions problems.

"I will then go away and see if there are further adjustments to Federal Government policies that should be made," he said.

The man who invited the Prime Minister to the Cape, Aboriginal lawyer Noel Pearson, says the Federal Government needs to provide practical help soon.

"They can get behind us in our efforts at small enterprise development, at training for youths and also rehabilitation for those people who have gone off the rails - people that have been traumatised," he said.

"We're going to have to deal with the legacy of failed policy."