Our work policies are clear: Abbott

Tony Abbott says the coalition has clear policies on industrial relations - even
though the Liberal party's website contradicts the opposition's election statements.
The opposition leader promised on the first day of the campaign not to make any
changes to Labor's Fair Work laws.
But the federal Liberal party's website says unfair dismissal laws are creating
"uncertainty for small business families".
Mr Abbott went into damage control on Tuesday after his deputy Julie Bishop
suggested a coalition government would see how the Fair Work laws played out.
"Look, we have a clear position. What I've said today, what Julie Bishop said last
night, is completely consistent with our clear position," the opposition leader told
reporters in Melbourne.
Mr Abbott referred reporters to a statement on his website promising that a
coalition government would not make any changes to workplace laws without taking
them to an election.
But the federal Liberal Party's website has a different message.
A section on small business, dated January 2010, is critical of Labor's unfair
dismissal laws, introduced by the Rudd government.
"This new Kevin Rudd law creates uncertainty for small business families," it says.
On the election trail, Mr Abbott has vowed not to change the law to deal with the
unfair dismissal concerns of small business owners but instead seek to make changes
through regulation.
Under the Fair Work Act, small businesses with 15 or fewer full-time staff will have
unfair dismissal protection provided they have been employed for 12 months.
The coalition has previously pushed to have a small business defined as 20 or fewer
workers.
But it has backed away from this during the election campaign as Work Choices
continues to haunt the opposition.