Morning Mail: Remote community "lifestyle choices", Coalition funding car crash, Jeremy Clarkson suspended

Guardian Australia's Morning Mail Wednesday 11 March 2015 g
Remote community "lifestyle choices"
Tony Abbott has prompted outrage after he saidremote Indigenous communities are "lifestyle choices" governments shouldn't have to fund.The comment came as the prime minister shrugged off Western Australia's decision to close up to 150 remote Indigenous communities. The social services sector is pleading with the federal government to stop the cuts to Indigenous organisations as frontline services reel at the extent of funding losses. A peak body for Aboriginal organisations in the Northern Territory has called for the prime minister to give up responsibility for a number of Indigenous affairs areas and give them back to the Health Department in order to have “the best chance at us achieving outcomes”.
Australian news and politics
Despite the Abbott government’s previously strong position against handouts, a key $500m funding cut to the automotive sector has been abruptly reversed, just as Australia’s major car manufacturers prepare to close their doors. But the Coalition's big news day on the automotive industry ended in a car crash, writes Katharine Murphy. A bout of generalised hooray-ness was meant to ensue when the government announced an apparent $900m bonanza yesterday, except it became clear that the $900m was actually $500m – and the $500m was fairly theoretical as well. Thousands of goodwill letters sent by Australians to immigration detainees held on Nauru have been returned unopened – six months after barrister Julian Burnside was assured they were being distributed to detainees. After a protracted standoff at Melbourne Airport involving protesters, security guards and several police, a 19-year-old Tamil asylum seeker's forced deportation was abandoned. It is the fourth incident of its kind since December. Australians could have $140,000 less in superannuation when they retire if the government implemented Joe Hockey's idea to allow first-home buyers to dip in to their accounts to purchase property, the industry super sector has warned. Paul Keating slammed the proposal as “not responsible enough even to be considered a thought bubble”, while Hockey is also under pressure from former treasurer Peter Costello, who has questioned his budget surpluses claim. There's been a twist in Barnaby Joyce's Hansard amendment saga. His deputy department head has unexpectedly taken leave after requesting an extraordinary Senate committee hearing in order to provide “highly pertinent” information. The Great Barrier Reef risks being officially listed as “in danger” without more funding put towards reducing pollution, environment groups have told the UN.
Around the world
A group of French sports stars participating in a reality TV show were among 10 people killed Monday when their helicopters collided in mid-air while filming in northwestern Argentina. French president François Hollande and some of the country’s top athletes have paid tribute to Olympic gold medalist swimmer Camille Muffat, boxer Alexis Vastine and champion sailor Florence Arthaud, the sports stars who died along with their film crew and pilots. “When he said shut up, it was no longer possible to shut up because I would be insulting myself and would lose everything.” TV host and university professor Rima Karaki on her now-viral interview with an Islamist scholar. The CIA led sophisticated intelligence agency efforts to 'crack the security of Apple devices', as well as insert secret surveillance back doors into apps, top-secret documents have revealed. Packages containing milk powder that tested positive for the poison 1080 were sent to New Zealand farmers' groups by anti-pesticide protesters in a threat to contaminate commercial supplies - a revelation PM John Key has been condemned as “ecoterrorism”
More from around the web
Among the most read on the Guardian this morning: After being put on what was called a "final warning" last year following a racism row Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended by the BBC over a 'fracas' with a producerr, and Top Gear has been pulled from the next two Sundays. Arun Kumar travelled nearly 10,000 kilometres from India to Sydney not knowing his wife, Prabha Arun Kumar, had already died from her stab wounds, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. Global investors are being warned about doing business in Victoria amid speculation that the State Government could legislate its way out of the East West Link contract, the Herald Sun reports. The Australian says people who live in states with privatised electricity supplies have faced smaller price rises over the past two decades than in other states.
One last thing
Zoolander​ is back! Ben Stiller​ laid down some Blue Steel as he and Owen Wilson​ strutted their stuff in a walk-off at Paris Fashion Week. Have an excellent day – and if you spot something I've missed, let me know on Twitter @earleyedition.