At least Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten are at one on something, even if they remain at loggerheads over the cost of their spending commitments.
The prime minister and opposition leader agree with Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens that budget repair will take years of hard work.
The central bank governor has taken the unusual step of commenting on the state of the budget during an election campaign.
In what will be one of his last official appearances before retiring in September, Mr Stevens told a business lunch on Tuesday the budget will be "OK" if nothing else goes wrong.
"But you know you can't really assume in life that nothing will go wrong over an extended period," he warned.
Mr Turnbull agrees.
"It is a slog, there is no doubt about that," he told Sydney's 2GB radio on Wednesday.
Mr Shorten said Mr Stevens was "absolutely right".
But Mr Turnbull says the onus is on Mr Shorten to come clean on the cost of his spending commitments.
Labor disagrees with the government's assessment that Mr Shorten has a budget blackhole of $67 billion that takes into account Labor's promises so far, government legislation it has blocked and measures it says it will overturn.
It also factors in what the government says is its $18 billion of tax increases and spending cuts.
"There is a black hole, he can solve the mystery, he should spell it out," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Melbourne.
Mr Turnbull said shadow treasurer Chris Bowen should spell out what his alternative budget looks like when he debates with Treasurer Scott Morrison at the National Press Club on Friday.
At a separate event in Melbourne, Mr Morrison told reporters he had deliberately sought to flush Labor out on trying to "walk both sides of the street" on a lot of its commitments.
"What is clear is Bill Shorten has already spent every single cent of the taxes he says he will raise over the next four years and all of the savings," Mr Morrison said.
Mr Shorten said voters should not fall for this "big lie" just because Mr Turnbull believes the May 3 budget doesn't qualify as election spending.
"Mr Turnbull is spending as much, if not more money than Labor, but he's just not spending it on Australians," he told reporters in Melbourne.
"We have a plan not to spend $50 billion on tax cuts for corporations and we have a plan to ensure that Australians get the best quality health care and the best possible education."
However, business is backing the government ambition for a 25 per cent corporate tax rate over the next decade.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has launched a campaign to push support for the government's economic agenda, while warning against big-spending proposals.
"It is so important that leaders and parties commit to policies that will allow us to become more competitive," chamber boss James Pearson said at the launch in Sydney.
