Howard said last week that his suggestions would make “a good system better” if the states agreed.

But Howard’s proposal to spread the liability for mine accidents so that they do not focus directly on mine managers came under fire from Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union president Tony Maher this week, who said Howard's claim that mine managers are solely responsible for accidents is false, and that any changes would lower safety standards.

“At the moment it’s hard to get qualified mine managers because so much of the responsibility criminally is focused on them and not necessarily on other people who may carry the responsibility for things when they go wrong, but under the law they don’t have the same amount of liability,” Howard said.

“It’s a question of the fair sharing of burden, not reducing in any way mine safety.”

But Maher told Australian Associated Press: “There'll be lower standards if they are changed. Basically he'll have blood on his hands. More people will die. More people will be injured.

“Safety laws are the next cab off the rank if the Howard Government is re-elected."

Meanwhile, the Minerals Council of Australia issued a statement yesterday saying it “deplores attempts by parts of the union movement and the NSW Government to falsely portray the prime minister’s commitment to regulatory reform in the minerals industry as undermining mine safety standards”

“This is simply an ideologically driven attempt to distract from the real agenda,” MCA chief executive Mitchell Hooke said.

“Any suggestion that industry would accept any diminution in mine safety standards could not be further from the truth.

“There cannot be any reduction in safety standards, but there must be reform to occupational health and safety regulatory systems across all jurisdictions if the industry is to achieve its goal of zero harm in the workplace.”