Tony Abbott backs closure of remote First Nations communities, says living in them a 'lifestyle choice'

What we can't do is endlessly subsidise lifestyle choices if those lifestyle choices are not conducive to the kind of full participation in Australian society that everyone should have. -Tony Abbott

The treacherous invader - Tony Abbott PM in Kalgoorlie

Rebecca Curtin ABC News 10 March 2014

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has backed a WA Government proposal to close a number of remote Indigenous communities, saying it is not the taxpayer's job to subsidise people's "lifestyle choices".

The WA Government flagged the closure of up to 150 of the state's remote Aboriginal communities after the Federal Government, which funded about two-thirds of the state's remote Indigenous settlements, announced in September it was transitioning that responsibility to the states over the next two years.

Speaking in Kalgoorlie, Mr Abbott said it was up to the state to decide what services it would deliver and where.

He said the decision to close communities was not unreasonable if the cost of providing services, where there are no schools or jobs, was excessive.

"What we can't do is endlessly subsidise lifestyle choices if those lifestyle choices are not conducive to the kind of full participation in Australian society that everyone should have," he said.

"In order to get kids to school and adults to work, you've got to have a school.

"If people choose to live miles away from where there's a school, if people choose not to access the school of the air, if people choose to live where there's no jobs, obviously it's very, very difficult to close the gap.

"It is not unreasonable for the State Government to say if the cost of providing services in a particular remote location is out of all proportion to the benefits being delivered, fine by all means live in a remote location, but there's a limit to what you can expect the state to do for you if you want to live there."

Concerns over effect on Aboriginal and business community

Laverton Shire president Patrick Hill

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Hugh Gallagher said the Prime Minister should be concerned about the profound impact it would have on Aboriginal culture and the business community.

"He needs to certainly be aware of it and that's actually an issue of business significance and community significance," he said.

"It has the potential to change the complexion of this city in particular over the next decade.

"I would ask him where that fits within the Government's policy on closing the gap? Because it is just so important that regional culture is retained and sadly it begins to shrink when it's in capital cities."

Laverton Shire president Patrick Hill said there was too much uncertainty at the moment and people were extremely worried.

Mr Hill said he had not been told if the three Aboriginal communities surrounding his shire would be closed or where those people would be housed within the small northern Goldfields town.

"In Laverton we've got three communities - the Mulga Queen, Cosmo Newberry and Mount Margaret and we haven't heard if any of those will be closing yet," he said.

"The biggest thing we're concerned about is closing down these communities and moving the residents into the regional centres like Laverton, Leonora or Kalgoorlie-Boulder without housing.

"Where do these people get moved to after the communities close and what happens to them? What resources are going to be provided to them to move?

"We don't want them all camping out underneath the trees around the town, they are going to need housing and that's our concern.

"We don't want people moved out of the areas that they've come from."