He said the heat in the super issue had been overestimated, with little sign of any backlash in safe Liberal seats.

Senator Sinodinos said the government would not backtrack on planned changes to top end superannuation despite unrest over whether the cap on balances is fair and whether the reform is retrospective.

But the Coalition will struggle to pass any contested legislation, with a crossbench of up to nine senators to work with.

After retaining Forde, the Coalition can reach the key number of 76 in the House of Representatives to govern in its own right if it does win Capricornia and Flynn.

"I don't believe that superannuation was quite the make-or-break issue that some people seek to make it," he said.

"Questions about what happens about the budget, ultimately will be a matter for cabinet and the Government. But what I'm saying is we have a mandate and I believe we should put up the budget as it is," he said.

His view on super is at odds with Immigration Minister Peter Dutton who was quoted on Sunday as saying the super issue was a negative with voters and the government should not have a "tin ear" when considering whether to amend elements of the budget.

Senator Sinodinos, who is a key backer and confidant of Malcolm Turnbull, echoed the Prime Minister's appraisal last week that Australians had "reservations" about the Coalition on health after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten made inroads during the election campaign with Labor's so-called "Mediscare" campaign.

"People did have reservations about us on health. That was the ground in which this Medicare scare could get off the ground. Now while privatisation itself was a lie, we weren't going to privatise Medicare, the fact of the matter is they were scratching away at an itch that people had about Medicare and our attitude to Medicare and one of the challenges we've got in the three years ahead is to show once again the Australian people that the Coalition is the best friend Medicare ever had," he said.