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The Abbott government is preparing for another compromise with the increasingly changeable Clive Palmer - this time to get its trimmed-down financial advice laws through the Parliament.
The deal which Fairfax Media understands is yet to be signed off, could be imminent and would come on top of the compromise nutted out with the now pivotal Palmer United Party over the carbon tax repeals.
It would represent a direct contradiction of Mr Palmer's own statement to media on Monday afternoon, in which he flagged an intention to block a weakening of consumer protections in the financial planning industry, and denied participating in negotiations.
Asked on Monday afternoon if his party was seeking a compromise with the government, Mr Palmer said "No, we haven't had a formal negotiation, we've just had a discussion where we explained why we don't think the current amendments are in the best interests of Australians."
The assurance came after he had also declared that his party's stance on the Future of Financial Advice regulations had not changed since last week when he had expressed his opposition to the changes.
The government-drafted regulations would allow planners to earn commissions in limited circumstances and removes a specific requirement that planners always act in the best interest of clients - albeit subject to satisfying other requirements.
Mr Palmer's office has since admitted the millionaire MP did have negotiations on Monday, having put a series of conditions to the government to obtain PUP support.
His office further advised that an announcement was expected from Finance Minister Mathias Cormann within hours.
Mr Palmer's media adviser angrily hung up when it was put to him that the statements to the media on Monday afternoon, that there were no negotiations, and the revelations of the proposed compromise, were deliberately misleading.
The government also hinted that negotiations were under way with the PUP.
"The government is doing what we always said we would do and that is engage with all crossbenchers in a courteous and professional manner, explaining the improvements we are making and why," Mr Cormann said.
"Our improvements to financial advice laws which came into effect on 1 July, 2014 ,deliver on the firm commitments we made before the last election, to improve access to affordable high quality financial advice by removing unnecessary and costly red tape, while maintaining all the important consumer protections that matter for consumers," he said.
"Contrary to Labor's assertions the government is keeping all the consumer protections that matter, such as the requirement for advisers to act in the best interest of their clients and the ban on conflicted remuneration.
It remains unclear when the government's carbon tax repeal bills will pass the Senate, despite the government having reached a deal with the Palmer United Party on Monday to scrap Labor's carbon price after days of frustration.
On Tuesday, the government was circulating a motion to extend the Senate's sitting hours this week to consider the full package of repeal bills, including the Climate Change Authority, to which Mr Palmer's proposed emissions trading scheme will be attached.
But the government would want to ensure its numbers were solid to bring on a vote on the carbon tax appeal before finally committing to action, after last week's embarrassment.
With Lisa Cox
