The $500 million of savings from the Abbott government's "stop the boats" policy will barely make a dent in the multibillion dollar budget deterioration predicted by one respected economist.
As Prime Minister Tony Abbott chose to boast about the savings from his successful asylum-seeker policy, Chris Richardson from Deloitte Access Economics was forecasting a $47 billion blow-out in budget deficit estimates to 2017/18.
Mr Richardson believes the May 12 budget will be a cross between a horror story written by Stephen King and "The Scream" painted by Edvard Munch, hardly the "dull" affair previously promised by the prime minister.
The worsening fiscal position is the result of revenue falls caused by a sharp drop in the iron ore price and slow wage growth as well as the Senate gridlock over measures from last year's budget.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten believes Australia can't afford a dull budget any more than it can afford a re-run of last year's disaster.
In a pre-budget speech in Sydney, Mr Shorten said there needed to be a budget that plans the next 10 years, not one that allows Mr Abbott to survive to the end of the year.
"We can't afford an outbreak of shallow populism," he told the McKell Institute on Monday.
Labor will gauge Treasurer Joe Hockey's second budget on three criteria: is it the right plan for the future? is it honest and responsible? is it fair?
Mr Abbott said the government was serious about getting the budget under control while reiterating it would also be "measured, responsible and fair".
"This government has taken big political risks for budget repair. We will continue to take big significant political risks for budget repair," he told reporters in Canberra.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said while there are a number of unresolved issues from last year's budget, next week's offering will show "our proposed approach to the way forward".
Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg concedes that 75 per cent of the budget problem has been on the revenue side but says the government won't be extending a two per cent levy on those earning above $180,000 annually, beyond its planned three years.
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