TONY Abbott today ruled out "ever" reviving Work Choices as the opposition leader was dogged by questions about his plans for workplace relations.
The Liberals thought they had put the issue to bed for the election campaign by promising not to change Labor's Fair Work legislation for three years, The Australian reports.But this morning, during his first day of campaigning in Melbourne, Mr Abbott has been quizzed about what happens after that.
On the Today Show, he answered: “I've got an election to win”.
But in an interview a short time later Mr Abbott said he would not be changing the legislation “not now, not ever”.
The apparent hardening of Mr Abbott's position comes as the coalition battles the hardest issue and most damaging legacy it carries around.
Mr Abbott had previously guaranteed that a Coalition government would not seek to change the government's workplace legislation for its first term, but extended the guarantee today.
"All democratic politicians above all else have to respect the electorate. And the electorate gave us a very clear message in 2007. I respect that message, I heed that message, I will follow that message.
"The interesting thing is that I've learnt the lesson of 2007. Julia Gillard and the Labor party still want to fight the 2007 election campaign."
Mr also refused to commit to giving Malcolm Turnbull his first choice of senior ministerial roles after the election.
Asked twice this morning whether Mr Turnbull, who Mr Abbott knocked off the become leader, would get his first choice, Mr Abbott said: “I've said that he would have a senior role.
“He will have a senior role but as I said ... You say that Julia Gillard is going to give Kevin Rudd the foreign ministry, I don't know that Stephen Smith has agreed to that and perhaps he should be asked exactly what arrangements have been entered into.”
Quizzed on whether he could guarantee stability in his front bench, Mr Abbott said he could guarantee that Juile Bishop would stay in foreign affairs and Joe Hockey would become Treasurer under an Abbott Government.
That leaves a question mark over what senior role Mr Turnbull would play.
Mr Abbott will today travel through Melbourne. It is understood that the Liberals are concerned about the seats of La Trobe and McEwen, both of which they hold.
Julia Gillard will campaign in the Townsville suburb of Mundingburra today.
She will join former Townsville Mayor Tony Mooney, who is Labor's candidate in the Liberal-held seat of Herbert.
The seat is held by Peter Lindsay, who was elected in 1996 but who will not contest the seat in the August 21 election.
The Prime Minister's decision to campaign in the crucial state of Queensland for the second consecutive day follows today's publication of a Newpoll in The Australian showing her government ahead of the opposition by 55 per cent to 45 per cent in two-party preferred terms.
If this result was repeated on election day Labor would win the seat, which it holds in notional terms by 0.3 per cent, because of a redistrbution conducted since the 2007 election.
Asked about this morning's Newspoll, Mr Abbott said it would be a very difficult job to get rid of a first-term government.
Read more on The Australian.
