Howard talks down poor industrial relations news

Prime Minister John Howard remains confident his industrial relations shake-up will gain public support, despite a new poll showing close to two-thirds of voters are worried.

The Galaxy poll in News Limited papers today found 63 per cent of Australians are concerned the proposed changes will mean lower pay and worse conditions.

After being savaged in a series of public opinion polls amid the current advertising blitz from the ACTU, the government has launched its own $20 million advertising campaign to convince workers the industrial relations reforms have merit.

Full-page ads in weekend newspapers -- titled More Jobs, Higher Wages, A Stronger Economy -- say the government will not abolish awards or cut workers' wages or annual leave entitlements of four weeks.

The ads also say the government's proposed reforms will not outlaw union agreements or take away a worker's right to join a union or strike.

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has branded the ads a waste of taxpayers' money, saying they offer no new information and no guarantee Australian workers will be better off under the changes.

"It is absolutely outrageous the government is using taxpayer dollars, without even a Bill in the house, simply to counter a campaign being paid for by Australian citizens," Mr Beazley told reporters in Perth.

"If this government was doing the right thing, this government would be paying for this itself through its Liberal Party operation."

But Mr Howard defended the government ads, saying the ACTU campaign had been deliberately misleading.

"I believe that it is perfectly legitimate to spend public money explaining the detail of something, particularly when there has been such a savage misrepresentation of that," he told the Nine Network.

Mr Howard, who came under heavy criticism from unions last week when he refused to guarantee that no worker would lose out under the shake-up, said negatives always won the first headline.

"My guarantee in relation to this really is my record, and the record of this government," he said.

Mr Howard said that under his leadership real wages had risen by 14 per cent, compared to 1.2 per cent under the Hawke/Keating Labour government.

"What you have to do is keep pushing ahead and buying more productivity with further reforms," he said.

"That's the only way that we will be able to deliver that sort of future for the country in five or 10 years' time.

"It's building for the future, not worrying about the short-term adversity of an opinion poll."

But Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) national secretary Doug Cameron said the ACTU was not running a scare campaign and it was high time Mr Howard took notice of voter sentiment.

"We're dealing with the facts of what will happen to working people when this legislation is imposed on them," he told the Ten Network.

"This poll result is a good result.

"I can't see it getting better for John Howard, no matter how much lies he uses to try and justify the campaign."

- AAP