Scott Morrison has no intention of being "hairy-chested" and making promises about budget surpluses.
But the treasurer says a new analysis on the federal budget highlights the need to grow the economy.
Deloitte Access Economics estimates the mid-year budget review will show the budget has deteriorated by $38 billion since May, largely because of China's economic slowdown which has hit Australian company profits and tax returns.
"It just highlights that you have got to grow the economy to fix the budget, you have got to continue to control expenditure to fix the budget," Mr Morrison told Sydney 2GB radio on Monday.
Measures tied up in the Senate, including savings Labor proposed, were necessary to ensure the budget got into the best possible position.
The treasurer will announce his formal budget numbers when he hands down the mid-year review in a couple of weeks.
Deloitte expects the 2015/16 budget deficit alone will blow out to $40.3 billion from the $35.1 billion estimated at the time of the May budget under previous treasurer Joe Hockey.
Mr Hockey had projected a budget surplus in 2019/20, but Mr Morrison declined to make a similar forecast.
"Previous governments have stood there hairy-chested at the dispatch box and promised four years of surpluses," he later told reporters in Canberra.
Labor treasurer Wayne had looked "quite foolish" when he did that.
"I am not going to go down that path. I will go on about the work of restoring the budget."
Deloitte economist Chris Richardson does not expect a surplus any time soon and says a deficit deterioration of almost $10 billion a year makes it a difficult balancing act for the government.
"That is a massive shortfall for anybody to address," he told ABC radio.
Shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh said Deloitte's findings were of concern and written prior to last week's capital expenditure figures showing their weakest result since 1987.
"It does point to the fact that you need a clear economic plan as to where we go next," he told Sky News.
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