Tony Abbott accused of weasel words on WorkChoices

Federal Labor has hit out at Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott on his so-called back down on the much maligned WorkChoices policy, originally introduced by the Coalition in 2005.

Although Mr Abbott was forced to declare WorkChoices 'dead,' the Opposition Leader failed on several occasions to clarify as to what shape a Coalition Government industrial relations policy would take.

Not convinced by Mr Abbott's forced confession, Federal Labor has accused the Opposition Leader of using 'weasel words' to 'bring back WorkChoices under a different name'.

Unusually, over the past few days, the Opposition has sent mixed messages to the public, first declaring WorkChoices dead for the term of the next Parliament, then backtracking with an extraordinary admission that a Coalition Government would 'tweak' the regulatory framework.

When Mr Abbott was asked why he had stated Workchoices was only dead for the next parliamentary term, the Opposition Leader replied, “It’s as simple as that, I have an election to win.”

When pressed again as to the details of his policy, Mr Abbott then stated, on talkback radio, that he “can't give an absolute guarantee about every single aspect of workplace relations.”

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard has raised concerns over the confused position of the Coalition.

"It's abundantly clear that if Mr Abbott became prime minister the worst aspects of WorkChoices would be back", she claimed.