Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared he would sooner raise the aged pension rate than the much less generous Newstart allowance.
Aged pensioners receive $834.40 per fortnight, while those on the unemployment benefit take home $538.80.
Bill Shorten has given a strong indication a Labor government would increase the Newstart rate, which hasn't risen in real terms in more than 20 years.
"I heard the other day they were thinking of increasing the Newstart payment," Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
"Well I've got to tell you, if I thought I had the money to do that, I reckon I'd be doing it for pensioners first."
Labor has also indicated it may scrap the controversial Work-for-the-Dole program if elected, questioning whether the scheme represents value for money.
The prime minister said he was not surprised, claiming his government supported creating jobs and "Labor is just for welfare".
"Labor is about taking people out of work and putting them onto welfare, so why would they be supportive of Work-for-the-Dole?" he said.
"What we've done as a government is got people off welfare and into work."
Source: AAP
