Mr Abbott, who has ended a three-day tour of communities in central Australia, says conditions have improved for Aboriginal communities over the past 12-months, but the government can't fix all the problems.
He says parents must make sure their children attend schools, and that adults participate fully in all employment options given to them.
Health Minister Tony Abbott, who visited Aboriginal communities in South Australia's far north-west yesterday.
He told a meeting of indigenous leaders it was not possible to develop a culture of work when some people took three months leave to grieve dead relatives.
Prime Minister Howard has backed Mr Abbott saying that it is not unreasonable to call on indigenous people to cut down on the time they take off work mourn the dead.
Mr Howard told ABC radio while it was not government policy, it was not totally unreasonable.
"I think what he is really saying was that perhaps such a lengthy period of withdrawal from the workforce might be incompatible with modern life," he said.
"On the face of it, that doesn't sound like a totally unreasonable statement, but I'm not going to get hung up on one particular remark."
Mr Howard said the government wanted to get better outcomes in health, education and work in Aboriginal communities.