Prime Minister Julia Gillard says a report that she was held to ransom by disgruntled frontbenchers who threatened to resign and force by-elections if they were demoted are "complete nonsense".

Former Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson makes the claim in a column in The Australian today.

"When she tried to demote one cabinet minister and suggested to another that he should step aside, they both immediately threatened to resign from parliament. Gillard backed off. She had no choice," he writes.

Ms Gillard has told Radio National the report is "completely untrue".

"No-one got their position by suggesting that if they didn't get the job they would resign from parliament," she said.

"I never had a conversation of that nature with anybody in my ministry. It is complete nonsense."

The claim comes amid a continued stoush over the pairing arrangements the Government will need to keep its wafer-thin majority intact.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will not guarantee any MP a pair during divisions if they choose to attend another engagement.

Ms Gillard says the public will judge Mr Abbott harshly if he tries to dictate when she and other ministers can be absent from parliamentary sittings.

She urged him to show "common sense and decency" on the issue.

"If Mr Abbott is saying to me as Prime Minister, or to one of the ministers, that they can't do something in the national interest because he'd prefer to play political games, then I think people will judge him very harshly on that and so they should," she said.

"I think this will become a question of judgement for Mr Abbott, with Mr Abbott knowing that ultimately the Australian people will be judging his political conduct."

Yesterday the Opposition refused to pair Minister for Regional Australia Simon Crean to give a speech at the Press Club, but later relented.

Mr Abbott's hardline stance on the issue continues as MPs today prepare to debate changes to how the House of Representatives operates.

The reforms were agreed to by both major parties and include time limits in Question Time, more private members' business and changes to the position of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.