Julie Bishop has denied she "went bananas" at Tony Abbott after the Prime Minister ordered the Foreign Minister be chaperoned by Trade Minister Andrew Robb to a climate summit next week.
The Foreign Minister was set to solely lead Australia's international negotiations at a UN conference in Peru on Monday which is being held in the lead up to new climate change treaty.
But on Sunday Fairfax Media reported that Mr Abbott had asked Mr Robb to accompany Ms Bishop to Lima amid fears she might go "too green" and over commit Australia to new targets.
The Australian Financial Review on Thursday reported that Ms Bishop "went bananas" at Mr Abbott and demanded a "please explain" from the Prime Minister, especially given she was not consulted on Mr Robb's attendance.
But the Foreign Minister later on Thursday downplayed the report.
"Why would I be angry at being accompanied by a minister to a very important climate change conference?" she asked journalists in Melbourne.
"Minister Robb will be overseas next week and I will be in Lima and it is an efficient use of our time to have two ministers at the conference."
Asked if Mr Abbott trusted her on climate change, Ms Bishop said the Prime Minister had transferred the responsibility of the international negotiations from the Department of Climate Change to her department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The reported stoush between the Prime Minister and his deputy party leader comes against the backdrop of growing grumbles from within the government about the level of control Mr Abbott's office exerts.
Many MPs single out Mr Abbott's chief of staff, Peta Credlin, for specific criticism. Last December, government senator Ian Macdonald said the Prime Minister's office was enforcing a "culture of obsessive centralised control phobia".
But Mr Abbott in recent days has backed his office and described his staff as the team that oversaw the Coalition's election victory in 2013.
The Prime Minister lauded Ms Credlin in his Christmas valedictory speech on Thursday as the "fiercest political warrior" he'd ever worked with.
"We all ride on the shoulders of our staff," he told Parliament.
While there is no serious threat to Mr Abbott's leadership, MPs are becoming increasingly concerned about the government's position in the polls.
Many note Ms Bishop's public popularity is significantly higher than Mr Abbott's.
But the Prime Minister also singled out his deputy for praise in his valedictory, remarking that Ms Bishop had enjoyed a "stellar year" as Foreign Minister.
