Mr Albanese called on the party to work more closely with business and ensure it better connects with people who are not union members.

"Labor doesn't have to agree with business on issues such as company tax rates, but we do have to engage constructively with business large and small," he said.

Some commentators saw this as a swipe at Mr Shorten, who has continually attacked the "top end of town" over personal income and company tax cuts.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull weighed in saying Labor has demonstrated again and again they are "hopeless" at economic management and its alternative plan in opposition was even worse.

"No wonder Anthony Albanese is criticising it," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Sydney.

"He must be just tearing his hair out to see the way Bill Shorten is abandoning literally years of what the Labor Party used to stand for."

But Mr Shorten downplayed such talk, saying he had seen the speech before it was delivered and it caused him "no offence at all".

"I encourage my members of the united Labor team to put forward their views on the fair go," he told reporters while campaigning in the Queensland seat of Longman ahead of the July 28 by-election.

"I want a fair go for everyone and I think that's what was motivating Anthony's talk as well."

He said he had since had an "amicable chat" with Mr Albanese, who thought the response to his speech was overblown.

Labor finance spokesman Jim Chalmers also did not believe Mr Albanese said anything different from other Labor MPs when he talked about having a better engagement with business.

"I spend a very big proportion of my time getting business perspectives, sharing ideas, spending time in the business community," he told Sky News.

"That's true as well of Bill Shorten, Chris Bowen - right across the board,."

But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann couldn't help having a dig.

"Anthony Albanese is absolutely spot on when he says that Bill Shorten's anti-business agenda is bad for Australia," he told ABC television.

Australian Associated Press