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A federal anti-corruption watchdog has cleared its first hurdle after the government passed a bill through parliament's lower house.

Arguments from members of the cross bench failed to convince the Albanese government to change its threshold rule for public hearings, or agree to define the provision.

Independent MP Helen Haines, who spearheaded efforts to set up a federal integrity body, tried to remove the "exceptional circumstances" clause altogether, saying the provision was "unnecessary and alarming".

"This is the single most important change to this bill," Dr Haines told parliament on Thursday.

When this was not supported, Dr Haines pushed for the government to define the meaning of "exceptional circumstances".

Her amendments were backed by the Greens, other independents and Liberal MP Bridget Archer.

But Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the government did not support the changes, saying they were matters on which "reasonable minds may differ".

"The commissioner will have the discretion to hold public hearings if they're satisfied that it's in the public interest and exceptional circumstances justify doing so," he said.

"It is the government's view that this is an appropriate threshold which reflects the significant nature of the power to compel a person to answer questions."

Independent MP Zali Steggall said while the proposed model would help increase accountability and transparency, she did not believe it went far enough.

"This (bill) is not capturing that opportunity to genuinely deliver to the Australian people what they asked for at the election, which is public integrity and accountability," Ms Steggall said.

She said not defining exceptional circumstances left commissioners open to legal challenge, and that Australians would be kept in the dark if the government did not lower the bar for public hearings.

"I don't think there could have been any clearer call at the election in 2022 that the public has had enough," Ms Steggall said.

"They want to see integrity returned to this place."

Dr Haines also called for an amendment to address pork barrelling by political parties ahead of elections.

She said it was "beyond doubt" that pork barrelling fell within the definition of corrupt conduct.

However, Mr Dreyfus said the government's proposal included the commission's ability to investigate discretionary grants programs where they breach public trust.

Independent MP Dai Le, who represents the multicultural electorate of Fowler, was successful in her push for the commission to ensure translation and interpreter services be made available for witnesses.

But a further amendment to protect the mental health of witnesses by allowing them to disclose their involvement in a public hearing was not agreed to.

Mr Dreyfus said the commissioner would have discretion to allow a witness to talk to their spouse or partner about being called as a witness, and it did not need to be specified in the legislation.

"It is the government's expectation that the commission would make available appropriate translation, mental health and other support services to persons who require assistance," he said.

Additional cross-bench amendments to improve protections for public broadcasters and put time frames on reporting requirements were not agreed to.

The opposition proposed to mandate factors to be taken into account when determining whether to have a public hearing, and to clarify the definition of corruption, but these were not accepted.

An additional suggestion to only hold investigations on past matters when it was in the public interest was also rejected.

A second related bill is due for debate in the lower house on Thursday afternoon and is expected to pass in amended form.

The Senate has extended its sitting calendar so laws to establish the commission can be passed before parliament finishes for the year next Friday.

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The 1953 Chevrolet Pickup featured in Australian director Baz Luhrmann's Elvis movie is one of hundreds of vintage vehicles about to go under the hammer.

It's one of 370 other classic cars up for grabs on Saturday at Lloyds Auctions.

The Chevrolet Pickup was the number one car in the US in the 1950s, with the vehicle custom-built for the hit movie.

"Imagine driving and owning the vehicle that Austin Butler drove in the Elvis film," Lloyd's chief operations officer Lee Hames said on Thursday.

"This opportunity doesn't present itself every day."

A meticulously built replica of the Delorean DMC-12 conversion from the 1982 cult classic Back to the Future is also on offer.

The car is complete with high-quality props to resemble the iconic flux capacitor, time circuits and plutonium gauges that all link together with effects from the movie.

Also up for grabs is a 1920s school bus with timber seats and floors, the classic 1975 Volkswagen Kombi minivan and a 1985 Suzuki Swift going for $10.

© AAP 2022

A manager at a Walmart Inc store in Virginia opened fire on fellow employees in a break room, killing six before turning the gun on himself, eyewitnesses to the latest mass shooting in the United States say.

The gunman, identified as Andre Bing, 31, of Chesapeake, Virginia, said nothing as he began firing on workers gathered late on Tuesday ahead of their overnight shift, according to two employees who were in the break room.

"I just watched three of my coworkers/friends be killed in front of me," Donya Prioleau wrote in a Facebook post.

"Andre killed them in cold blood ... I cannot unsee what happened in that break room."

At least four others were wounded in the attack, which took place while about 50 people were inside the store.

Chesapeake police identified the dead as Brian Pendleton, 38, Kellie Pyle, 52, Lorenzo Gamble, 43, and Randy Blevins, 70, all from Chesapeake, and Tyneka Johnson, 38, of neighbouring Portsmouth.

A 16-year-old boy from Chesapeake, whose name was withheld because he was a minor, was also killed.

Authorities say they were still investigating what may have motivated Bing, who came armed with a single handgun and multiple magazines of ammunition.

The city said its SWAT team had executed a search warrant at his house.

"Detectives are working to learn more about the shooter's background and what may have motivated the shooting," the city said in a statement.

Another Walmart employee, Briana Tyler, told ABC's Good Morning America: "I looked up and my manager just opened the door and he just opened fire."

Several of Bing's co-workers told CNN he had exhibited strange and sometimes threatening behaviour in the past.

He also made paranoid comments, expressing concerns the government was monitoring him, they told CNN.

Coming on the heels of the killing of five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub on Saturday, the latest massacre prompted a fresh round of condemnations by public officials and calls by activists for tighter gun control.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called the shooting "yet another horrific and senseless act of violence", noting a shooting earlier this month that left three University of Virginia students dead.

"There are now even more tables across the country that will have empty seats this Thanksgiving," he said in a statement.

Bing worked for the company since 2010, most recently as an overnight team leader at the Walmart Supercenter in Chesapeake, a city of about 250,000 residents just south of Norfolk.

Jessie Wilczewski told WAVY-TV she hid under a table and the shooter pointed the gun at her and told her to go home.

"It didn't even look real until you could feel the pow-pow-pow. You can feel it," the store employee said.

"I couldn't hear it at first because I guess it was so loud. I could feel it."

Tuesday's bloodshed marked the latest spasm of gun violence in the US, where an average of two mass shootings - defined as an incident killing or injuring four or more people - occur every day, according to GunViolenceArchive.org.

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