Prime Minister Julia Gillard has gone on the defensive as criticism mounts of her government's controversial new flood levy.
Ms Gillard lost her cool in one combative radio interview on Friday, angrily rejecting suggestions the $5.6 billion flood recovery money might be misspent.
"You don't need to patronise me, thank you very much," she told 3AW's Neil Mitchell, after he told her Australians would not accept any waste and mismanagement.
It sparked a war of words between the prime minister and the Melbourne morning show host in what was a fiery 20-minute interview.
Ms Gillard also fired up over a suggestion that not every member of her cabinet agreed with the levy.
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"Don't be so silly," she responded, while labelling a claim that the levy was politically motivated as "complete nonsense".
The feisty performance is a sign the federal government is facing an uphill battle selling its flood recovery package, which was announced on Thursday.
Environmentalists have been put offside by cuts to climate-friendly programs, while the $1.8 billion levy and a perceived lack of spending oversight have raised other concerns.
While flood victims and the low paid will be exempt, a one-off levy of 0.5 per cent will apply to taxable income in 2011/12 between $50,001 and $100,000 and a one per cent levy will apply to taxable income above $100,000.
According to early polls, most Australians are against the levy, with more than 50,000 people responding to Fairfax's online survey and 74 per cent giving it the thumbs-down.
Ms Gillard insists the government has value-for-money at the top of its priorities, although she has repeatedly refused to take responsibility for any misspent money.
She deliberately deferred infrastructure projects to free up workers, so that prices stayed down. "We're going to get it done with value for money," Ms Gillard said.
In Queensland, Flood Recovery Taskforce boss Mick Slater will be overseeing the spending, while arrangements are still being made in Victoria and Tasmania.
Finance Minister Penny Wong on Friday defended the prime minister's handling of the radio interview and denied that Ms Gillard's temper was fraying. "Look, not at all. The interviews can get willing at times and I think politicians are entitled to correct the record if people put things to us that are not true," she told Sky News.
Ms Gillard was touring flood-affected parts of Victoria on Friday, as her Treasurer Wayne Swan further outlined the effect of the floods at a business function in Brisbane.
He said floods could add a quarter of a percentage point to inflation in the March quarter, while he also tipped a rise in general food prices. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who also hit the flood-affected regions on Friday - this time in Gatton, Queensland, continued his campaign against the tax, warning that it could easily extend beyond the its one-year limit.
"This is just the beginning," he told the Nine Network. "This is a government that sees a problem and thinks tax and it just never stops."
