The finance minister, Mathias Cormann, concedes the government may have to its adjust its budget “here and there”, but says the Coalition remains committed to winning parliamentary support for the key measures, and will continue to pursue negotiations.



Lacking the numbers in the Senate to pass many of its unpopular budget measures, the government has been repositioning publicly over the past week or so, laying the ground to ultimately compromise on some of the more contentious policies, including the changes to higher education and possibly the GP co-payment.

But after several reports over the weekend suggested a comprehensive budget rework was in the offing, and with the prime minister now turning his mind to the domestic agenda as federal parliament prepares to resume in a week – the finance minister was dispatched to face reporters on Sunday to clean up and hold the line.

After a horror week for the treasurer, Joe Hockey, in which he was rebuked by Tony Abbott for his clumsy explanation of the government’s proposed rise to the indexation of fuel excise, Cormann was asked why he, rather than Hockey, was addressing reporters. Cormann said the two economic ministers worked “as a team”.

Cormann said it was a “a ridiculous proposition” that Hockey had been sidelined in the public budget sales pitch because of last week’s mess, which culminated in Hockey apologising to voters on Friday for appearing out of touch with the cost of living pressures faced by low income earners.

Cormann hedged on the substantive matter of the budget, and which measures the government was prepared to ultimately compromise on.

He said there was still time to persuade the Senate crossbench of the merits of highly contentious policies such as the GP co-payment. The co-payment and the higher education changes were not scheduled to take effect “for some time”. There was therefore still time for the government to continue to engage “in good faith” with Senate crossbenchers, Cormann said.

“We are absolutely determined to repair the budget,” the finance minister said on Sunday. “While there may be an adjustment here and an adjustment there, fundamentally we expect all of our budget measures to get through the parliament.”

The education minister, Christopher Pyne, has already conceded that the higher education package will not get through the Senate without amendments.

Pyne told the National Press Club a week ago: “If we have to give up parts of the package to get the reform through, to get the thrust of the reform through, then I live in the real world and that will happen.”

The health minister, Peter Dutton, last week discussed options on the co-payment with Clive Palmer. The Australian Medical Association wants pensioners and other disadvantaged payments out of the scheme.

Labor argued on Sunday the government should dump the entire budget and start again, rather than “tinker at the edges”.

“They should just go back to the drawing board,” deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek told Sky News. “This is a stinking budget because it breaks so many promises and because it’s so profoundly unfair.”

Shadow finance minister Tony Burke on the ABC said the budget was based on the false premise that there was a “budget emergency” – and besides, the measures were fundamentally inequitable. High income earners faced a temporary tax rise, while “for lower and middle income earners the negative impact happens straight away”.

The Greens expressed a similar view. “Tweaking the budget will still see the young, the sick and the poor bearing the brunt of the cuts,” Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt said.

“The government needs to start again.”