Labor launches IR offensive

Labor is accusing Tony Abbott of a plan to revive Work Choices, stepping up its
industrial offensive as opinion polls put the coalition ahead in Queensland and
Western Australia.

Two polls - the Westpoll in The West Australian newspaper and the Galaxy poll in The
Courier-Mail - put the coalition ahead of Labor, 51 per cent to 49 per cent on a two
party preferred basis.
The Galaxy result in Kevin Rudd's home state of Queensland will be particularly
galling for Labor.
Labor's primary vote has slipped three points since November to 39 per cent,
according to Galaxy, while Liberal support has surged seven points to 38 per cent.
It was more bad news for Labor struggling to shake off criticisms dogging
Environment Minister Peter Garrett and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.
Mr Garrett was under attack on Monday for missing a meeting in Canberra with
industry leaders over the government's troubled $3.7 billion insulation rebate
scheme.
And questions are being asked about a meeting between Senator Conroy and media mogul
Kerry Stokes at an American ski resort just weeks before he gave television stations
a reprieve in their licence fees.
Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner insists it was nothing sinister.
"He just happened to be in the same place as Kerry Stokes and he's gone and caught
up with him," he told ABC radio.
Mr Abbott was keeping on message about Labor's broken promises as he hit the phoney
campaign trail in Perth on Monday.
"I think people are getting a bit sick of Mr Rudd, who is all talk and no action,"
Mr Abbott told reporters.
The coalition believes Labor emissions trading scheme, its workplace laws and the
prospect of a resource rent tax as a result of the Henry review are particularly
unpopular in WA and Queensland.
Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop said WA jobs were particularly reliant on the
mining sector.
"People here are very mindful of the devastating impact of the militant unions ...
there's a lot of talk in this state about are we returning to the bad old days," she
told AAP.
But the government warns it is the coalition policy that is the problem.
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard has demanded the coalition come clean on what
parts of the Howard government's unpopular Work Choices policy it plans to bring
back if it wins government.
"The opposition mantra appears to be Work Choices is dead but the fine print shows
that if elected they'll simply return the same laws, just under a different name,"
she said in a statement.
Seizing on recent comments by Mr Abbott and Ms Bishop, Labor is accusing the
coalition of a plan to get rid of penalty rates.
Ms Bishop told ABC radio that penalty rates were making the situation worse for
workers.
"Bringing back inflexible working conditions such as the penalty rates regime is
costing employers more," she said.
Unions were meeting in Melbourne on Monday to draw up a strategy against the
coalition at the next election.
The "Your Rights at Work" campaign from the 2007 election was a crucial factor in
Labor's success against the Howard government.
ACTU president Sharan Burrow echoed the concerns of Ms Gillard.
"Look at what Tony Abbott has said on the record - the name Work Choices won't be
used but he is talking of individual contracts and unfair dismissal rights being
revived," she said.



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