Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been told to apologise to a long-time Liberal Party supporter over claims federal bureaucrats advised him to de-register his cruise ship as Australian.
North Star Cruises representative Bill Milby told a Senate committee on Monday night he had been dumbfounded to be told by department officials that to stay competitive under new legislation he should re-register a vessel in a foreign country, sack Australian workers and hire a cheaper foreign crew.
Department officials Judith Zielke and Michael Sutton agreed they had discussed various options with Mr Milby, including reflagging.
But they insisted this did not constitute giving advice.
Both the prime minister and deputy prime minister Warren Truss - who is responsible for transport issues - have suggested Mr Milby was mistaken, a notion to which he has taken offence.
"I do not tell lies," Mr Milby told the committee.
Opposition transport spokesman Anthony Albanese says it's the department's responsibility to give honest answers to people in the industry affected by its policies.
"The advice was right," Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
"(Prime Minister Tony) Abbott must at the very least apologise to Mr Milby for calling this Australian businessman ... a liar."
Mr Truss told parliament on Monday that if that advice had been given, it would be inaccurate because it wasn't possible under the planned changes for an Australian cruise ship with foreign crew to operate year-round on the Australian coast.
Mr Albanese accused the minister of not understanding the policy implications of his own legislation.
"It may well be that ignorance or stupidity is his excuse rather than treachery, but this is treachery when it comes to Australian jobs," he said.
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