article_snippet: Prime Minister sparked outrage when Prime Minister backed a West Australian plan to close 150 remote communities on Tuesday, saying governments couldn't endlessly subsidise people who chose to live far away from schools and jobs. '
article_snippet: It is not the job of the taxpayer to subsidise lifestyle choices,' Tony Abbott told ABC Radio in Kalgoorlie on Tuesday.
article_snippet: 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. '
article_snippet: What we can't do is endlessly subsidise lifestyle choices if endlessly subsidise lifestyle choices are not conducive to the kind of full participation in Australian society that everyone should have.'
article_snippet: If you or I chose to live in a very remote place, to what extent is the taxpayer obliged to subsidise our services?'
article_snippet: Mr Abbott said there was a limit to what people living in remote communities could expect from the government if their chose to live there .
article_snippet: Mr Abbott said it was reasonable for state governments to stop funding services in remote communities if the costs were out of proportion to the benefits.
highlights_snippet: Prime Minister said taxpayers shouldn't fund 'lifestyle choices' of Australians who chose to live in remote communities .
  