The head of the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council says Tony Abbott is committed to closing the gap despite acknowledging that the prime minister made a mistake by suggesting Indigenous Australians were making "lifestyle choices" to live in remote communities.
In an interview with SBS, Warren Mundine said Mr Abbott's comments showed a misunderstanding.
"It’s not like some schoolteacher has retired and they've gone bush for some sort of sea change," he said.
"These are Indigenous people whose families have lived on the land for thousands of years. They are there for cultural and religious reasons. They are there for legal reasons – the law of their own culture and the law of the land as well, in regard to native title issues. That's why they're there. I think we need to make that clear upfront."
But he said the prime minister's comments should not distract from the important issue he was highlighting.
"The comments are wrong," he said. "But he has raised a very important issue about how do we service these communities, how to we ensure kids get to school…they're legitimate arguments."
He said he did not question the prime minister's commitment to Indigenous Australia.
"This prime minister is committed and is genuine in his approach to closing the gap," he said, adding that it was "not the first time he has mixed up his words."
"Just off the top of my head I can think of five other occasions."
Mr Abbott, a day after making the comments, insisted he was simply stating a general principle about the difficulties children from remote communities faced going to school and adults in finding work.
"This is where we have to be a little bit realistic," he said.
"If you or I chose to live in a very remote place, to what extent is the taxpayer obliged to subsidise our services?"
When asked whether he thought an apology was necessary, Mr Mundine said he was "leaving that up to the prime minister.
Hi stance was at odds with the President of the Indigenous Social Justice Association, Ray Jackson, who said today that a sensible conversation on the issue is not possible under the Abbott government.
"There is nothing sensible about people who don't want to listen to the culture," he said. "Who don't want to listen to the history? Who don't want to our true way of life?"
The Greens' spokeswoman on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Issues, Senator Rachel Siewert, said an apology was in order.
"It would require him to think about the insensitivity and inappropriateness of his words. And hopefully drive a better understanding by him of the importance of people staying connected to land," she said.
Award-winning film director Rolf de Heer has also weighed into the debate, saying that Mr Abbott has shown he does not understand Aboriginal issues.
The director of acclaimed Indigenous dramas, including Ten Canoes, is calling for the Prime Minister to step away from the Indigenous Affairs portfolio.
"The Prime Minister has shown he can't understand the issues," Mr de Heer said.
"And therefore it is completely appropriate that someone who has some sensitivity about the issues take the role."
Ministers defend Abbott's comments
Senior government ministers have come to the defence of Tony Abbott after his 'lifestyle choice' comments.
Mr Abbott is resisting opposition calls he apologise for saying taxpayers couldn't endlessly subsidise people who chose to live far away from schools and jobs.
Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne dismissed the calls as a bizarre and hysterical response to an economic issue.
"There comes a point where the taxpayer has to say how much money can be spent in this community where there is no economic future," he told reporters in Brisbane.
Malcolm Turnbull said attempts to paint Mr Abbott as insensitive to Indigenous Australia was a bridge too far.
It was important the issue be discussed thoughtfully and rationally, he said.
"Rather than - as is often the case with the prime minister - that whenever he opens his mouth his critics swoop on him like a pack of forwards onto a bit of loose balls."
Treasurer Joe Hockey said Mr Abbott was "absolutely right" because you could not raise an expectation that the quality of opportunity was available in every part of Australia.
"Some of them say it's part of their tradition, that is their lifestyle, that is the way they live," he told ABC radio.
With AAP.
