Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said he is working with new Treasurer Scott Morrison to deliver the mid-year budget review in December.
Treasurer Morrison said in his first media conference since becoming treasurer that Australia has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.
"Growing the economy, achieving the savings, are the key tasks associated with the budget repair job, and that job will take as long as it takes and it will get the result that is necessary," Mr Morrison said.
He said the economic reform focus of the federal government will be on reducing the country's "mountain of debt".
"Net debt to GDP is some 17.3 per cent, that's the same as it was when Peter Costello started out as Treasurer. We have a similar task to climb this debt mountain. Debt you can form quickly, as the previous Government demonstrated. It's like abseiling. You move very, very fast.
"But to repay debt, takes a long time. And it's like the rappel, it's going up that mountain, step by step, with very considered and measured responses."
He said the tax system could be reformed to reward Australians.
"I want a tax system that will encourage people and reward people to work, save and invest, to be in jobs, to invest in their future."
Mr Morrison said higher taxes would not solve budgetary woes.
"I always believe in lower, simpler, fairer taxes. Name one Australian you've met who would like to pay higher taxes. But why, why is that important is really the question, not whether someone wants to pay more or less," he said.
"Australians earn their money, and we want them to be able to keep as much as they possibly can to put it into the things they believe are important, not what governments think is important."
Government rejects reports of suspended tax white paper process
There was no change to the tax white paper process "at all", Mr Morrison said, denying reports it had been suspended by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
"It is proceeding as we intended it to proceed, and the timetables around those issues have always been, I think, very broad and not fixed," Mr Morrison said.
He said tax reform was a critical part of the government's plans to provide real opportunities for Australians who wanted to work, save, and invest.
The response to the financial systems' inquiry is very close to completion and will be soon considered by cabinet, he said.
There needed to be further discussion on the response to the Harper review and its competition reforms.
Mr Morrison said he wouldn't be attending as many international meetings, like the G20, as his predecessor Joe Hockey in the short term, instead he would leave that to Senator Cormann and Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer.
"My job as treasurer now, I think is to very much be a home treasurer, a domestic treasurer, one very much focused on the challenges in front of us," Mr Morrison said.
Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen said the tax white paper process is a "white elephant".
"The latest damaging insider leaks from officials who were working on the Tax White Paper, show a LIberal Government all at sea on policy direction," he said.
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