Tony Abbott is refusing to apologise for controversially saying taxpayers should n't fund the 'lifestyle choices ' of Australians in remote communities despite backlash from indigenous leaders . The Prime Minister sparked outrage when he backed a West Australian plan to close 150 remote communities on Tuesday , saying governments could n't endlessly subsidise people who chose to live far away from schools and jobs . 'It is not the job of the taxpayer to subsidise lifestyle choices , ' Mr Abbott told ABC Radio in Kalgoorlie on Tuesday . Tony Abbott is refusing to apologise for controversially saying taxpayers should n't fund the 'lifestyle choices ' of Australians in remote communities despite backlash from indigenous leaders . '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 . 'What we ca n'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 . ' Labor and the Greens are demanding he apologise for comments they have described as racist and highly offensive . Speaking on Sydney 's 2GB Radio on Wednesday , Mr Abbott defended his comments saying he was just being realistic and stating a 'general principle ' . 'If you or I chose to live in a very remote place , to what extent is the taxpayer obliged to subsidise our services ? ' he told host Alan Jones . Mr Abbott 's chief indigenous adviser , Warren Mundine ( left ) , disagreed with the PM saying : 'It is not like retiring and moving for a sea change , it is about thousands of years connection ' Speaking on Sydney 's 2GB Radio on Wednesday , Mr Abbott defended his comments saying he was just being realistic and stating a 'general principle ' 'It is incredibly difficult for the kids to go to school if there 's only half a dozen of them and getting teachers there is all but impossible . 'Similarly , it 's very difficult for the adults to get a proper job if there 's no employment within hundreds of miles and this is where we have to be a little bit realistic . ' But the prime minister 's chief indigenous adviser , Warren Mundine , disagreed with his comments . 'That is a complete misconception of what it is and he 's wrong in that regard , ' Mr Mundine told Fairfax Media . 'It is not about a lifestyle , it is not like retiring and moving for a sea change , it is about thousands of years connection , their religious beliefs and the essence of who they are . ' Mr Abbott said there was a limit to what people living in remote communities could expect from the government if they chose to live there . Mr Mundine said the prime minister 's comments were a misconception . The hashtag # lifestylechoices started trending on Twitter on Wednesday following the PM 's comments . Opposition indigenous affairs spokesman Shayne Neumann demanded a public apology to all Australians for what he called 'deeply disturbing and highly offensive ' comments . 'This is a prime minister who does n't understand the importance of these people to their connectivity to their land , ' he told AAP . The hashtag # lifestylechoices started trending on Twitter on Wednesday following the PM 's comments . Mr Neumann accused Mr Abbott of trying to undo any progress made in closing the gap of indigenous disadvantage . 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 . Greens senator Rachel Siewert slammed the comments as 'unbelievably racist ' and completely out of touch with reality .
Tony Abbott has refused to apologise for controversial comments . Prime Minister said taxpayers should n't fund 'lifestyle choices ' of Australians who chose to live in remote communities . His chief indigenous adviser , Warren Mundine , disagreed , saying it was n't like retiring , it was about religious beliefs . Labor and the Greens say Mr Abbott 's comments were 'highly offensive '