Both parties should learn to lead: Muir

A key crossbench senator has delivered a damning assessment of political leadership in Australia while venting anger at Labor's latest bid to force the removal of unions royal commissioner Dyson Heydon.

Ricky Muir is angry the federal opposition wasted his time and that of his crossbench colleagues to deal with a motion that asked the Senate to call on the governor-general to remove Mr Heydon.

The Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party senator says it's not the job of parliament to intervene in royal commissions or legal proceedings.

The move was a delay and distraction from usual business and represented a "new low in partisan politics".

Senator Muir implored the government to show better leadership and called on Labor to prove itself as a worthwhile alternative.

"Leadership is more than zingers or three word-slogans," he told parliament on Wednesday.

"Leadership is about setting an example that inspires others to follow, rather than simply selecting the lesser of two evils every three years."

The government should learn to communicate with crossbench senators - who it often needed to pass legislation - and the community.

"It is not my role as a crossbench senator to sell the government's policy to the public," Senator Muir said.

The crossbenchers have come under fire from conservative commentators, being accused of making the parliament ungovernable.

But Senator Muir dismissed that as classic government tactics - blaming others when things don't go its way.

"The government needs to realise that senators like myself are more interested in finding common ground and solutions to problems," he said.