Malcolm Turnbull says voters outside the "political bubble" expect the government to make some compromises on its election promises to get them through parliament.
The prime minister on Friday hailed the passing of $11 billion in budget savings over four days of parliament sittings as evidence the coalition was delivering on its pledges.
Labor has criticised the government for making changes to what Mr Turnbull called "iron clad" policies, such as superannuation which was also earmarked for amendment this week.
Labor's vote was central to the parliament on Thursday night passing the $6.3 billion omnibus budget bill, which was also amended to win support, and the $4.6 billion hike in tobacco excise on Wednesday.
Mr Turnbull said compromise did not undermine his credibility, but should be expected when it came to complex areas of policy.
"Really, if you get into the real world, out of the political bubble, the man on the street, the man on the bus, the man on the ferry, the woman in the cafe - they will all say, 'Good on you, you listened, you fixed it up, you made it better, well done'," he told 3AW radio on Friday.
"I have to work with everybody to govern this country, legislate for our future and secure our prosperity."
The government is now weighing up how to pass its $50 billion corporate tax cut plan and workplace reforms which triggered the double dissolution election.
"There's more work to be done," Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said.
The most likely solution appears to be a tax cut for businesses with under $10 million in turnover, but a deferral of relief for medium and large corporations.
Liberal senator Zed Seselja, who was one of a number of conservatives in the party who lobbied for changes to the superannuation package, said the government needed to ensure any changes made to election promises did not in any way "compromise our end goals and our values".
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said having to always placate conservative MPs was not the way to run a government.
"This is a government that has to deal with its own internals before anything actually happens in terms of the parliament," he said.
Treasurer Scott Morrison said he expected another policy - a tax cut for middle-income earners - to pass parliament "in coming weeks".
Mr Morrison said a key focus for the government in coming months would be dealing with the "earnings problem", which was dragging on the budget.
"We must support and implement policies that help us to increase what we can earn as a nation, as businesses and as individuals in a low growth, low interest rate, low inflation, low wages growth, volatile world," Mr Morrison told a Melbourne business forum.
"When Australians and Australia earn less for what we produce, so does the government."
The solution lay in boosting private sector investment and "unlocking productivity and value" in the economy, he said.
This could be achieved through new road, rail and defence projects, the Western Sydney airport, the national broadband network, incentives for innovative new businesses, export trade deals, getting more young people and women into work and the results of a newly announced inquiry into Australia's productivity.
