Palmer deal has business impact: Labor

Labor thinks business groups should be concerned about a lack of consultation on new penalties for not passing on carbon tax price cuts.

The Abbott government has agreed to an updated amendment by the Palmer United Party to enforce price cuts for electricity and gas as a result of the carbon tax repeal.

PUP and the government initially agreed to a schedule of penalties, but after further talks settled on higher penalties and, in the worst cases, criminal sanctions.

The repeal laws have also been expanded to take in not just Australian corporations but all types of "entities", from individuals to "any party or entity which can or does buy or sell electricity or gas".

Clive Palmer told reporters he believed it would apply to companies such as Qantas and Virgin airlines.

Labor Senate leader Penny Wong said the government had failed to explain the impact on small and large business from the latest deal with PUP.

"Australians are entitled to know does the price pass-through apply to all businesses or only to electricity and gas companies," she said.

She said there were also questions about how criminal penalties would apply.

"Maybe if the government had paid attention to proper process rather than just try to ram these through to get a political win, it may not have been in such a chaotic and shambolic mess."