Former Prime Minister John Howard has affirmed earlier this August that the Australian economy is at a solid state as claimed by the Labor-led federal government, according to a report over the weekend by the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

The publication, however, also reported Mr Howard as saying that the robust domestic economy was realised too because Australia has rich mineral reserves and not merely on the economic policies espoused by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan.

"When the Prime Minister and the Treasurer say that the economy is doing better than most, they are right. I agree with them," the former Liberal leader was quoted by AFR as saying on Sunday.

In a response, Mr Swan highlighted the positive remarks that were dispensed by Mr Howard at the business forum hosted by Westpac and strongly suggested that Opposition Leader Tony Abbott should follow suit.

"If it's good enough for John Howard to acknowledge the strength of the Australian economy it ought to be good enough for Toy Abbott," News Ltd reported the Treasurer as saying on Monday.

Mr Swan also called attention on the AFR report, which indicated that Mr Howard has lamented the fact that Australia in the past 25 years "had tax reform, IR reform, we privatised government industries, we've got rid of tariffs and we've freed the financial system."

"But the one area we have gone backwards is IR and I think that's a great shame ... (and) if you're asking me, there is no reason why this country should not go back to the workplace system we had between 1996 and 2005, where you had individual contracts," the former prime minister was quoted by AFR on his address before a crowd of business executives.

What was laid out by Mr Howard should be taken as the cue of what Mr Abbott will impose on the labour sector should he assume the prime minister post, the deputy prime minister warned.

"(If) Mr Howard, who was a Liberal prime minister for 12 years, is talking about bringing back Work Choices, then you can bet your bottom dollar that Mr Abbott is bringing back Work Choice," Mr Swan was quoted by the Australian Associated Press (AAP) as saying today.

Political analysts have attributed the Coalition's defeat during the 2007 federal election to Work Choices, which Mr Abbott had pledged not to resurrect, insisting during the 2010 election campaign that the policy was "dead, buried and cremated."

But Trade Minister Craig Emerson told ABC today that the current Coalition leader was not clear enough on the matter, suggesting too that when Mr Abbott harped about industrial flexibility and productivity issues he could be hinting that worse elements of Work Choices could be revived under an Abbott Government.

Among them were the relaxation of the fair dismissal code and the possibility that employers can dangle individual contracts to workers, which are parts of the IR reform package supported by Liberal MP Steven Ciobo.

"It puts us behind the rest of the world when it comes to labour market flexibility," Mr Ciobo asserted in arguing for the IR reform proposals.

In a statement, Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten said today that moves from conservative state governments and words coming from Coalition members run in counter with the earlier declarations of Mr Abbott regarding Work Choices.

"The horror stories of Liberal workplace relations policy this Labor government abolished are now being revived by conservative state premiers, and are nothing but the warm-up act for what would happen in Australian workplaces if Tony Abbott ever became prime minister," Mr Shorten said as per the report of AAP.

The senior Labor minister also urged Mr Abbott to be more forthcoming on the matter and give Aussie workers on what really should be expected in the event the Coalition assumes government power in 2013.

He should at least be clear on what provisions of the Work Choices will be reinstated should he become prime minister, Mr Shorten said.

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