You know there's an election in the air when the wheels start to fall off in question time. And so it was on Monday, when the Treasurer twice forgot the day of the budget, and the Deputy Prime Minister stunned colleagues and commentators alike with a spectacular rant about giving herpes to fish (yes, really).

"The budget I will hand down tonight ..." Scott Morrison initially declared, a full 29 hours before he was due to deliver it. Fast forward half an hour and suddenly "we're two days from the budget"; a slip-up that prompted guffaws from across the chamber, and even a raucous round of applause.

Never one to concede a point, the Treasurer dug in. "Monday, Tuesday - two days!" he insisted, noting that despite the imminent delivery of the nation's pre-eminent economic document, Labor had not asked him a single question about the budget (they were directed to the Prime Minister instead).