Independent South Australian senator Nick Xenophon has hit back at the Greens attack on his preference deal.
Senator Xenophon will advise his supporters to put the Liberal or Labor parties ahead of the Greens at the September 7 poll, making it harder for Senator Sarah Hanson-Young to be returned.
Senator Hanson-Young claims his preference deal risks putting the coalition in the box seat to take control of the Senate.
In previous elections Senator Xenophon put minor parties like the Greens and Family First ahead of the major parties on a split how to vote ticket.
But after former Greens leader Bob Brown engaged in some "megaphone" negotiations, there was a backlash against the Greens among his supporters, Senator Xenophon said on Saturday.
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"Bob Brown turned it into an issue and as a result it focused peoples' minds on preferences," Senator Xenophon said.
His electorate office received hundreds of calls urging him to preference the major parties over the Greens.
Senator Xenophon has decided to put the Liberal and Labor candidates equally on a split ticket with preferences trickling down on one side to the Greens before the Liberals.
On the other side of the ticket the preferences trickle down to the conservative minor parties before going to Labor or the Greens.
"I think it's being very fair," he said.
Mr Brown, campaigning in the seat of Melbourne with MP Adam Bandt, thinks Senator Hanson-Young will successfully keep her spot.
"She is getting quite a lot of calls from people who are pretty disgusted with Nick giving his preferences to the Liberals ahead of the Greens," he told reporters.
