Manager of government business in the Senate Mitch Fifield would never say never to horse trading for a crossbench senator's vote, but the starting point must always be the merits of the particular piece of legislation in question.
He said governments of all persuasions have been approached by individual crossbench senators asking to be entertained on a particular issue in return for the support for a piece of legislation, former independent Tasmanian senator Brian Harradine being an "absolute classic".
"The number of call centres that he secured ... in relation to various pieces of legislation, at one point there was a genuine concern Tasmania was going to sink under all those call centres that he had secured for them," Senator Fifield told Sky News on Sunday.
Senator Fifield says the government always argues for legislation on its merits.
"That's our starting point, that's how we engage with various groupings in the parliament," he said.
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He said the government was hopeful of gaining Senate crossbench support for legislation to reintroduce the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the registered organisations bills, which were passed by the lower house last week.
"We took them to a double dissolution election, we have a mandate, we have the endorsement of the Australian public and that's something our Senate colleagues should have in mind," he said.
He said the Labor party should support this legislation if they cared about their union members as they claim they do.
"They should be at the front of the line of people wanting to clean up the trade union sector," he said.
Labor frontbencher Ed Husic said it would be a brave person to predict how these proposed laws would be treated by the Senate.
But he said the way that the numbers were being counted at the moment, they were more likely to pass.
"Will it actually lead to better productivity, better safety and better outcomes in the construction sector? Based on previous experience, no," Mr Husic told ABC television.
"And it's more likely that that will be replicated now."
Senior minister Christopher Pyne said the government was doing better now than in the previous parliament at getting its legislation passed because Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had the necessary skills to work with the crossbench.
The crossbench was also more open to talking to the government, he told ABC TV.
