Prime Minister Julia Gillard has rejected suggestions returning the budget to surplus could put Australia at risk of recession.
Ms Gillard on Sunday said returning the budget to surplus was an economic imperative.
"The best way we can lock in confidence about the future and send a message to the world about the Australian economy is to deliver a budget surplus," she told Network Ten.
Ms Gillard said there was no risk the necessary spending cuts could send Australia into recession.
"No, there's not," she said.
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"To be talking in that language is to completely misunderstand what's happening in the Australian economy today."
But Ms Gillard refused to talk about the details of any particular budget measures.
"I know it's budget speculation season - it's kind of started early this year - and I'm not going to engage in speculation about individual items," she said.
"As we return the budget to surplus - which is the right economic decision now, to lock in confidence for the future - we'll be taking our Labor values with us."
Asked also about Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's proposal to subsidise the cost of hiring a nanny, Ms Gillard said it was clear the coalition was not serious.
"This is all a fig-leaf to start a debate about childcare, to pretend that they're interested in it, presumably to try and distract from their track record in government," she said.
