Labor Leader Bill Shorten insists there is no way his party could have done a preferences deal with maverick Clive Palmer without him signing off on it, something he would never entertain while the billionaire owes money to his former workers.
it has struck with Mr Palmer ahead of the May 18 election but it has also come to light that Labor made informal approaches to the mining magnate and his United Australia Party.
"Let's be really clear here. There is no way that you can do a preference deal without me signing off on it," Mr Shorten told the Nine Network on Sunday.
He said there was one question that has not been satisfactorily answered by Prime Minister Scott Morrison when giving preferences to Mr Palmer and his Nationals coalition partner giving their preferences to One Nation.
"What have they promised Pauline Hanson and Clive Palmer?" Mr Shorten asks.
Deputy Labor Leader Tanya Plibersek played down Labor's approach to Mr Palmer.
Deputy Labor Leader Tanya Plibersek Source: AAP
"Look, I don't think a couple of SMSs is what you'd call a formal negotiation," she told ABC television.
"Bill's made it very clear that we would never have had a formal arrangement with Clive Palmer while he owes his workers $70 million."
She noted Mr Palmer told his own candidates he would probably spend $70 million promoting himself on the side of every bus and billboard around Australia.
Taxpayers were forced to stump up $70 million owed to Queensland Nickel workers, a company owned by Mr Palmer that went into liquidation.
Government minister Alan Tudge said if Mr Palmer does owe people money he should pay them.
"That's his business," he told Sky News.
But he repeatedly skirted around the issue of the preference deal with Mr Palmer, saying what he wanted was for people to vote for the Liberal party or the Nationals party as their number one priority.
"The contest is really between who you want to be in government, that's where the contest is," Mr Tudge said.
"There are only two choices here in terms of who will form government, it's either the Liberal/National Party with Scott Morrison as prime minister or Bill Shorten as prime minister."
