The Prime Minister has launched a scathing attack on The Australian newspaper, accusing it of a long-running smear campaign against her over allegations involving a union slush fund.

Julia Gillard has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to her involvement with the fund for her then-boyfriend and Australian Workers Union (AWU) official Bruce Wilson.

Ms Gillard, who was a lawyer at Slater and Gordon in 1992 when the fund was set up, has said she believed the fund would be used for legitimate purposes, namely to support the re-election of union officials.

The Australian today reported that in 1995, $5,000 was deposited in Ms Gillard's bank account by a former AWU official at the request of Mr Wilson.

The paper states there is no evidence to suggest Ms Gillard asked for the payment or knew of its origins.

The report said the money was provided to the union official in a "wad of $100 and $50 notes", but it is not known where Mr Wilson got the funds.

When asked about the money by journalists in Brisbane this afternoon, Ms Gillard lashed out at the newspaper for publishing the story.

"Having read today's Australian closely, there is not one substantiated allegation in today's Australian," she said.

"It does not contain one allegation of wrongdoing by me.

"The Australian newspaper has spent months and months and months in so-called investigative journalism looking at this matter, and after all of those months and months and months of looking, there is not one substantiated allegation of wrongdoing by me.

"This matter is trawled over for the best part of 20 years, and at the end of it being trawled over for the best part of 20 years, there is not one finding of wrongdoing by me, and there's a reason for that - I didn't do anything wrong.

"This kind of smear that we are seeing in today's Australian... this is a smear pure and simple, and I'm not going to dignify it by becoming involved in it."

Asked if she remembered getting the $5,000, Ms Gillard responded: "I've just dealt with the nature of these smears."

When pressed on the matter of the deposit, the Prime Minister added: "If you've got substantiated allegation to put to me, put it, otherwise don't engage in this smear."

Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop has targeted the Prime Minister in Parliament over the union slush fund, declaring Ms Gillard still has legitimate questions to answer.

"It goes to the Prime Minister's honesty, it goes to her character, it goes to her ethical standards, it goes to her professional conduct," Ms Bishop said in a subsequent interview with Macquarie Radio.

Indigenous remarks

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister says she will not use the same language about Indigenous Australians that Opposition Leader Tony Abbott used recently.

Liberal MP Ken Wyatt is the only Aboriginal person ever elected to the House of Representatives.

Mr Abbott says he is incredibly proud to have Mr Wyatt in Liberal ranks, but he also sparked criticism yesterday by referring to his backbencher as an "urban Aboriginal".

Ms Gillard says she would not make distinctions between different Indigenous people.

"I am not going to engage myself in the kinds of things that have been said in recent days, trying to divide Indigenous Australians up into neat little columns and descriptors - people are people.

"People bring with them into the Parliament all sorts of attributes and outlooks on life."

Mr Wyatt says Mr Abbott's comments were unhelpful, but he says the Opposition Leader has apologised.

"It was unreserved and I said to Tony the friendship and our collegiality remain intact, it's not an issue, let's just get on with the job and continue to focus on increasing the number of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders within the Australian Parliament."