Photo: © 2009 AAP/RIO TINTO
Abbott says many young people are living off welfare payments at the same time as major mining projects in Western Australia and Queensland are relying on migrant workers to fill the gap in the local labour market.
"The idea of having people on the dole where there is relatively unskilled work freely available, I think the Australian public don't like that idea," he says.
His suggestion has outraged many, including the 28-year-old boss of the Australian Workers' Union, Paul Howes.
"This is crass politics at its worst, the type of thing that was typical of Pauline Hanson," Howes told Sky News.
"It's one of Tony Abbott's Sarah Palin moments."
A spokeswoman for Abbott says the comments do not reflect current Coalition policy.
