Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned voters they risk creating another Palmer United Party if they back Nick Xenophon Team candidates.
"They are not robots. They are not clones of Nick Xenophon. They are individuals and whether they actually, in practice, represent his values or work as a team with him remains to be seen," Mr Turnbull told ABC radio on Wednesday during his first visit to Adelaide as prime minister.
"We've seen the recent episode with Clive Palmer ... You're essentially voting for what may turn out to be another set of independents."
Mr Turnbull compared the yet-to-be-named Nick Xenophon Team candidates to the Senator's former political ally Ann Bressington, who turned against him after being elected to SA parliament on Xenophon preferences in 2006.
"He has run with a running mate once before and it ended in tears...so you have a precedent," Mr Turnbull said.
But Senator Xenophon said he had made sure candidates would stick to key policies.
"I've learnt from mistakes in the past ... We've gone through this extensive and exhaustive process for candidates to stick to key core policies to do with predatory gambling, to with Australia made, to do with a whole range of issues," he told ABC radio.
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