Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has vowed to hang any further cuts in the foreign aid budget around the neck of her Labor counterpart Tanya Plibersek.
But Ms Bishop refused to say whether she was being asked to make more cuts, having already had $7.6 billion stripped out in the May budget.
Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann are reportedly pressing for more savings ahead of the mid-year budget review, due mid-December.
Ms Bishop admitted every department was having to look at their finances, especially if Labor continued to block budget measures in the Senate.
"If savings are found from my department, I will hang that around the neck of Tanya Plibersek each and every day until the next election," she told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
