Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has rejected Labor claims he solicited the rent-free use of a townhouse from a businessman friend as he dealt with his marriage breakdown.
Labor unsuccessfully sought to bring on a motion on Thursday calling on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to sack his deputy for breaching ministerial standards.
The motion was lost 73-70.
The standards say that ministers "must not seek or encourage any form of gift in their personal capacity".
Mr Joyce told parliament that at the time he was provided with the Armidale townhouse by Greg Maguire he was going through the candidate endorsement process for the New England by-election, and was no longer an MP or a minister.
"It was at that time that Mr Maguire approached me, as did many other friends ... to offer support," Mr Joyce said.
"At the time, in the discussions, he said, 'You're living out of a suitcase, and this is basically something that I should try and help you with'.
"I took him up on the offer but I offered to pay for it."
Mr Maguire knocked back the offer to pay rent and provided the townhouse for six months rent free.
"It's quite clear that I did not approach Mr Maguire for assistance," Mr Joyce said.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported this week Mr Joyce had phoned Mr Maguire seeking a place to stay as the Nationals leader began to move in with his former staffer and now-pregnant girlfriend Vikki Campion.
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus has called on Mr Turnbull to "immediately sack" Mr Joyce over the standards breach.
"The deputy prime minister has dismally failed to uphold the principles of these standards," Mr Dreyfus said.
Australian Associated Press
