Anthony Albanese has flagged Labor is “considering” giving the government what it wants and passing all three stages of its tax plan, as debate continues within the opposition over the best way to move forward.

But Albanese and key Labor MPs remain unconvinced the government has provided enough information to justify passing the third tranche of tax cuts, due to come into effect in 2024-25.

“We are considering it, but one of the things we are waiting for, as well, is for the government to give us the information that we’ve requested,” Albanese told Channel Nine. “They don’t have a blank cheque. And they won’t say what cuts they will make.

“If you are reducing revenue, you therefore have to reduce expenditure. We want to know what their plans are, what the proposed full deal is, not just half of it.”

Labor supports the increase to the low and middle-income tax offset and could be persuaded on the second stage, to lift the 19% tax threshold to $45,000. But the third stage, which would create a flat tax rate of 30% for earners between $45,000 and $200,000, has both the opposition and Senate crossbenchers, including One Nation, and Centre Alliance hesitating.

Mathias Cormann has repeatedly ruled out the government splitting the package, presenting it as an all or nothing deal, while also flatly rejecting calls from the crossbench to negotiate.

That has put the spotlight back on Labor at a time where the party is recalibrating its policy platform, including its position on tax, sparking claims of a divide.

While some MPs are content to let the government “own” the tax package, and any economic ramifications which emerge from it, others see supporting the tax package in its entirety as an abandonment of Labor’s policy platform of the last six years, particularly its rejection of trickle-down economics.

Comments from Victorian backbencher Peter Khalil, saying Labor should support the whole package if the government won’t split the bill, opened a new line of government attack, with Peter Dutton claiming Khalil was the only Labor MP “talking sense”.

Peter Khalil MP (@PeterKhalilMP) Re comments today about tax cuts-I said govt's package shld be split up b/c 3rd stage is out in never never & govt hasn’t explained how they will pay for it. In event they don't split the package my view is we shouldn't block tax cuts for working & middle class Aussies-thoughts?

But Labor MPs talked down claims of a divide ahead of Monday’s shadow cabinet meeting, where the tax plan will be discussed, saying it was a “conversation worth having” but that nothing had been decided.

“There is a broad expectation from the Australian people, that the first tranche of tax cuts should be supported but, after that, the second and third tranche, it gets very murky, very quickly, in terms of the Coalition actually articulating the need for it,” Queensland Labor MP Graham Perrett said.

“There is no urgency [for the second and third stages] and the economic conditions have deteriorated significantly since the ballot boxes closed at 6pm on May 18. Or perhaps, there was a misrepresentation of the grim state of the Australian economy by the government before election – and all the data supports that characterisation.

“Fresh economic data is the best way to consider decisions we make now, for tomorrow and that is worth discussing.”

The New South Wales MP Ed Husic said he remained unconvinced that “handing such a large slab of money to the high-income earners” was fiscally sustainable and the government was yet to explain how it planned on funding the hit to the budget, but that Labor would make its decision as a caucus.

But he challenged the idea the government had a mandate to pass the third stage of tax cuts.

“The Coalition never respect anyone else’s mandate, so why do they expect us to fall in line here, by claiming to have one over their tax cuts?” he said. “They are claiming a mandate on something they haven’t fully costed or explained.”

The shadow minister, Andrew Giles, said he too remained unconvinced “by any policy or political rationale which would lead me to support tranche three”.

The government will introduce its tax legislation in when parliament resumes early next month. Without Labor, it needs four of the crossbench votes, with One Nation, Centre Alliance and Jacqui Lambie emerging as the balance of power.