Tony Abbott is feeling the heat after he called indigenous remote living a “lifestyle choice”.
Abbott was speaking about the West Australian government’s plan to close 150 remote Aboriginal settlements.
The prime minister told the ABC: “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.”
While Abbott has been criticised left, right and centre, the best critiques have come from Twitter users sarcastically questioning whether other ‘decisions’ could be deemed “lifestyle choices”:
Hey @TonyAbbottMHR here’s some #lifestylechoice ‘s to stop funding now: Private schools Churches School chaplains Investment properties — Kerry Glover (@TheRealKerryG) March 10, 2015
Going to court on work time to sue the Herald because you don’t like how they talk about you is a #LifestyleChoice I’m not happy to pay for. — Jackie McMillan (@MissDissentEats) March 10, 2015
Ripping fossil fuels out of the ground until the world heats up & everything dies is a pretty stupid #lifestylechoice but hey subsidise away — Padraic Gibson (@paddygibson) March 10, 2015
Suing Fairfax for your sooky hurt feelings instead of doing the Budget that you completely ballsed up last time… #lifestylechoice — Dave Donovan (@davrosz) March 10, 2015
Abbott decided long ago that being a Rightwing, pugnacious, mysogynist, xenophobic, economic illiterate was a good #lifestylechoice #Auspol — Comrade SQib (@The_SQib) March 10, 2015
Accepting scholarships for your kids education when you are in the top 20% of earners. #lifestylechoice #auspol @TonyAbbottMHR — JRB (@JRBSays) March 10, 2015
Being Prime Minister is a #lifestylechoice @TonyAbbottMHR, can we stop paying your salary? #auspol — Angelo Bellas (@AngeloBellas) March 10, 2015
I would expect all govt funding to be withdrawn from religious schools given they are a lifestyle choice.#LifestyleChoice #auspoI — Lindsay Bordas (@Herbie_planeguy) March 10, 2015
The religious tax exemption is another #LifestyleChoice loophole I am no longer happy to ignore. Tax them all, @TonyAbbottMHR #auspol — Jackie McMillan (@MissDissentEats) March 10, 2015
$20k+ a year private schools sure seem like a bit of a luxury #lifestyleChoice @TonyAbbottMHR – stop subsidising those first maybe? #auspol — Nathan Lee (@NathanLee) March 10, 2015
organising to unelect this government is a #lifestylechoice — Scott Ludlam (@SenatorLudlam) March 11, 2015
Sorry, @TonyAbbottMHR, we’ll have to turn the power & water off to Kirribilli House, not sustainable. You understand, #LifestyleChoice — David Marler (@Qldaah) March 10, 2015
Aboriginal Genocide: subsidising the opulent #lifestylechoice of Australia’s elite since 1788
— Padraic Gibson (@paddygibson) March 10, 2015
#auspol #lifestylechoice #LNPFail Fr Rod nails it again…. pic.twitter.com/1o0w4rLeME — Brad Scott (@BradScott_Green) March 12, 2015