Shorten rejects Palmer as populist

Labor says parties like Palmer United are not part of the "serious mainstream" of politics.

Billionaire politician Clive Palmer's party will have three senators sworn in on Monday, at the start of the first sitting of the new upper house.

They will be part of an 18-member crossbench also comprising the Greens, Family First, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, independent Nick Xenophon and the Democratic Labour Party.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said that by breaking its election promises the government was feeding voter cynicism and allowing microparties to flourish.

"Every time a politician breaks a promise and denies their breach of faith the Australian people lose a little bit more belief in the mainstream of Australian politics," Mr Shorten told a conference in Melbourne.

"This voter suspicion, this distrust, this cynicism makes it easier for extremists to cast themselves as anti-establishment, or for the populists - or dare I say the PUPulists - to present themselves as a legitimate alternative."

Mr Shorten said parties such as PUP were able to "promise everything to everyone" without having to accept the responsibility of delivering any of it.

"All this makes it harder for the serious mainstream of Australian politics to focus on what matters."

The Labor leader said his party would not be wasting the next term and a half in opposition but would develop policies to drive economic growth.