It didn't take long for Stefanovic to turn his attention to claims by Palmer United Party Senator Glenn Lazarus that Mr Pyne had harassed him via text message, labeling the fiasco "like an episode of The Bold and the Beautiful."

Karl Stefanovic is on a roll ... he's now grilled Christopher Pyne after Tony Abbott.

Mr Pyne jokingly dismissed the jibe. "I haven't sent any flowers or chocolates to Senator Lazarus so I hope nobody is sending them in my name," he said.

Stefanovic then took aim at the government's inability to pass key budget measures.

"Here's the issue," Stefanovic said. "You can't get your own policies through the Senate, but you can't even get it through your own people."