Politicians will spend the final parliamentary fortnight before the budget battling over what's more important to Australians; the amount of pay going into their bank accounts or the level of bills coming out.
The Turnbull government is determined to get its overhaul of childcare subsidies through parliament before the five-week Easter break.
It also wants to keep the heat on Labor over power prices, after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced Snowy Hydro 2.0 and lectured gas company bosses on ensuring Australians get access to the fuels being taken out of their ground.
Labor wants to sustain its attack on the coalition over penalty rate cuts, having finally secured a match-up on its home turf of industrial relations.
"I and Labor will fight tooth and nail this week to ensure that we stop the cuts to penalty rates," leader Bill Shorten told reporters on Sunday after addressing a union rally in Melbourne.
"No doubt this week Mr Turnbull and his coalition will try every distraction under the sun to stop us talking about penalty rates."
He'll introduce a bill to parliament first thing on Monday morning to stop a decision by the Fair Work Commission to cut Sunday penalty rates for some hospitality, retail and fast food workers.
The commission is still considering how to implement its decision and minimise the impact on take home pay, and Mr Turnbull argues its independence and well-researched findings should be respected.
Education Minister Simon Birmingham says Mr Shorten likes to talk big about easing cost-of-living pressures on families and the government is offering him a chance to do something.
"We have comprehensive solutions to fix the price pressures in child care and all we need is the Labor Party and the Senate to come on board," he told reporters in Adelaide.
Labor, the Greens and many crossbench senators are baulking at passing the changes because the government has tied them to cuts to family payments in an omnibus bill.
An inquiry report on the bill is due to be tabled on Monday.
However, further watering down the savings from changes to welfare spending could risk losing the support of Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm and former Liberal Cory Bernardi.
"If it doesn't result in sizeable improvements in the deficit and they give it away to something else we won't vote for it," Senator Leyonhjelm told AAP.
And after the buzz of daily politics has died down, on Friday three new beehives will be installed at Parliament House.
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