Scott Morrison lost his majority in parliament on Monday and just a day later he's dropped even further back, with one of his MPs quitting the government.
Julia Banks had already announced she was quitting parliament at the election, but on Tuesday dropped a bombshell on the prime minister, revealing she was moving to the cross bench.
"Effective immediately, I will serve as a member of this House of Representatives as an independent representative," she told the lower house on Tuesday.
Her announcement came as Mr Morrison was effectively announcing the timetable for the lead-up to the next election, expected in May.
He said the federal budget will be brought forward to April 2, which will allow for the election to be held within the legal window for a half-Senate and House of Representatives election which closes on May 18.
The prime minister also said the budget would be in surplus, which would be reflected in the mid-year review to be published on December 17.
"It is absolutely our intention to have the budget before the election and to deliver a surplus budget, a surplus budget that we promised to deliver," he told reporters.
He dodged questions about Ms Banks' move to the crossbench.
She has promised not to vote for no confidence motions in the government.
The loss of Malcolm Turnbull's seat of Wentworth to independent Kerryn Phelps saw Mr Morrison lose his majority in parliament on Monday morning when she was sworn in.
But he has signed an agreement with Queensland independent Bob Katter to ensure he won't lose no confidence motions.
Ms Banks said the Liberal Party needed an "urgent" culture change to get more women into its ranks.
"There's the blinkered rejection of quotas and support of the merit myth," she said.
"But this is more than a numbers game."
Ms Banks also attacked the right wing of the Liberal party for bringing down Mr Turnbull as prime minister.
"Their actions were undeniably for themselves, for their position in the party, their power, their personal ambition, not for the Australian people who we represent," she said.
She said she was keeping her options about her political future open.
Mr Morrison is due to visit Argentina for a G20 meeting after parliament finishes sitting on Thursday, before returning in time for the the final sitting week of the year.
