Vic govt election costings bill defeated

Victorian independent MP Geoff Shaw has flexed his political muscle again, siding with Labor to vote down a bill the government says will provide more accountability of election costings.

Attorney-General Robert Clark lashed Labor for voting with Mr Shaw against the bill on Thursday, saying it wanted to avoid more accountability for election costings.

"We've just seen in parliament one of the most disgraceful pieces of behaviour by a Labor opposition that I've seen in parliament in many years," he told reporters.

"There's only one reason why the Labor party would vote this bill down and that's because they don't want to be accountable for their dodgy policy costings."

Mr Clark said he was surprised Mr Shaw, who holds the balance of power in the lower house and whom he briefed on the bill, decided to vote against it.

Unless there was a dramatic change of heart on the floor of parliament, the bill would not go before parliament again, he said.

Mr Shaw previously sided with Labor on Tuesday, the first sitting day of the year, to vote down the government business agenda for the week, a move causing a likely delay in the passing of bills.