On a day when a new opinion poll shows that fewer than a third of voters approve of the job Joe Hockey is doing, the treasurer is pumping money into family pockets rather than taking it away.
He's also giving small business billions of dollars in tax breaks.
"We want people to spend, we want people to have a go," Mr Hockey told reporters at Parliament House.
It's a different approach to his first budget a year ago that received a widespread thumbs down that lingers to today.
The latest Essential Research online poll said that only one in three people back Mr Hockey as treasurer, down from 45 per cent just after the 2013 election.
The projected budget deficits are larger than forecast in December's mid-year review, but not as worrying as some economists had been predicting.
For this financial year (2014/15) the deficit is expected to end up at $41.1 billion compared to $40.4 billion in the mid-year budget review.
For 2015/16, the deficit is forecast at $35.1 billion against $31.2 billion indicated in December.
And Mr Hockey is still predicting a surplus in 2019/12.
It was a pleasant surprise for one respected economist, who was anticipating a nightmare budget akin to a Stephen King horror novel.
"Spending across everything ... is as tight as a drum," Deloitte Access Economics economist Chris Richardson told AAP, adding that new initiatives were being funded from the now ditched and generous paid parental leave scheme.
Rating agencies also say Australia's triple-A rating is safe for now.
The budget includes a $5.5 billion jobs and small business package aimed at providing major incentives for businesses to "invest, hire and grow".
At the same time, a $4.4 billion families package includes changes to the childcare system to make it simpler and fairer.
"We want to give parents a choice about work ... but are prevented from doing so by the current costly and complex scheme," Mr Hockey said.
Yet for all of its aims, economic growth is expected to dawdle below its long-term trend of 3.25 per cent until 2016/17.
The unemployment rate is also expected to remain above six per cent until 2018/19, hardly an electoral plus for the government when voters go to the polls sometime in 2016.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said Mr Hockey had failed the test he set for himself.
"Spending is up, deficits are up, unemployment is up," he said.
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