Sydney's Daily Telegraph has launched a blistering attack on South Australian senator Nick Xenophon for frustrating the government's efforts to pass a controversial savings bill.
The front-page spread called Mr Xenophon a "self-absorbed politician" from the "backwater town" of Adelaide.
Mr Xenophon's bloc of three senators is currently opposed to the Turnbull government's so-callled omnibus savings bill, saying its welfare cuts of several billion dollars are too harsh.
The senator has also come under fire for floating the idea of raising the Medicare levy for high-income earners to help pay for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The Daily Telegraph's front page on February 16. Source: SBS/Daily Telegraph
He proposed a 1 percentage-point increase to the levy for "high-income households".
Speaking with reporters outside Parliament House on Thursday, he criticised another front-page story - in The Australian newspaper - that accused him of wanting to raise the Medicare levy for all taxpayers, not just those on high incomes.
"[It's] just plain silly, it is wrong!" the senator said, writing the word "FAKE" in red texta on the front page.
"What I said was that for high-income earners, the Medicare levy surcharge should be considered as part of the mix," Mr Xenophon said.
"I've said there might be a case for a tiny increase in the Medicare levy for those on higher incomes.
"To suggest a 1 per cent slug on all households, including low-income households, is never what my position was."
Fellow crossbench senator David Leyonhjelm, of the libertarian Liberal Democrats, said he would never support an increase in the levy.
"I have not seen a tax I would not cut," he said.
"The Medicare levy is just a tax under another name."
The Medicare levy is a 2 per cent tax paid by most Australians on their taxable income, though some lower-income earners pay less. The Medicare levy surcharge is an extra tax that applies to those on higher incomes who do not have private health insurance.
Labor MP Doug Cameron said Nick Xenophon should help Labor oppose the Coalition's proposed $50 billion corporate tax cut before proposing new revenue-raising measures.
Mr Xenophon does support delaying the tax cut, but not scrapping it altogether.
But Mr Cameron told SBS News he was sceptical Mr Xenophon would even vote to defer the cut.
"Let's hope that that survives a meeting with prime minister [Malcolm Turnbull]. Because not much does, with Nick [Xenophon]," he said.
Meanwhile, the Turnbull government is pressing on with its effort to pass its omnibus bill, which combines major reforms to childcare support payments with a raft of cuts to welfare.
Senior government figures are meeting with independent senators in a bid to win crossbench support.
The bill is unlikely to pass the Senate in its current form, with the Greens, Labor and the Nick Xenophon senators all indicating they would vote it down.
Crossbench senator Derryn Hinch says he'll continue negotiations with the government and could support the bill if some cuts are reversed.
"I've said before that it's oranges and lemons. I've got some problems with the delayed start for teenage welfare ... [and] cutting pensions," Mr Hinch said.
"They call it the omnibus - well, there's about 50 seats on the omnibus and I think three, four, five or 10 of them may well be removed."
The government on Thursday ruled out tinkering with capital gains tax concessions as an alternative path to budget repair.
A report in the Australian Financial Review claimed the government was considering a move to halve the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount applied to property sales.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has denied any such plan existed.
"We do not support the Labor Party's plans to increase capital gains tax or indeed their plans to outlaw negative gearing," Mr Turnbull said.
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