Joe Hockey's poor-people-don't-drive claim has managed to remove some of his more contentious budget measures from the spotlight for a day.
Victorian senator Ricky Muir challenged Joe Hockey's comments about the impact of extra fuel tax on poor people, saying not everyone in rural areas can "hop on cows and ride into town".
The treasurer is under fire for his comment that low-income families would not be as hard-hit by the return of fuel tax indexation as the wealthy because "the poorest people either don't have cars or actually don't drive very far in many cases".
Senator Muir, from the Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party, opposes the tax rise, especially given its impact on people in regional areas with further to drive and less access to buses and trains.
"I don't think (Mr Hockey has) ever lived in a rural, regional, or remote area where he may have been a school leaver, a job seeker, unemployed, low to mid-income where there's no public transport," he told the ABC.
"We can't all hop on cows and ride into town, I don't think."
Senator Muir told Fairfax radio on Thursday that he had often had to think twice about filling up his car, having lived in regional areas.
"Rural and regional will feel the pinch the most," he said.
The crossbench senator said he had met Mr Hockey to discuss the federal budget but "no deals or agreements were made".
He has also spoken with doctors who voiced concerns about the $7 GP co-payment.
"I'm not going to come out with a position yet ... but in its current form it is a concern," he said.
But the federal treasurer's view about the impact reintroducing fuel excise indexation will have on lower-income households won few supporters, even from the government's own ranks.
Undeterred, Mr Hockey has also warned the government may have to take even harsher action if his budget measures continue to be frustrated by the Senate.
The government appears to have already lost $5 billion in revenue because of its failure to pass 16 initiatives on time, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.
They include the fuel tax hike, welfare changes affecting under-30s, an increase to the medicines co-payment and cutting spending linked to the mining tax.
"The bottom line is, if we don't make our spending affordable now, then the cost of dealing with it in the future will be much greater," Mr Hockey said on Thursday.
Still, it was his comment from the day before that wealthier households would be harder hit by the fuel excise continued to hit a nerve.
It was meant to reassure low-income earners they wouldn't feel the pinch from twice-yearly inflation-linked hikes in the fuel excise.
Instead, it drew a stream of criticism, even from coalition colleagues.
Worse still, it upset crossbench senators just when he has been trying to woo them to support his measures through the Senate.
Ricky Muir, from the Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party, opposes indexation because of its impact on regional people who have further to drive and with less access to public transport.
"We can't all hop on cows and ride into town," he said.
Palmer United Party senator Dio Wang said it wasn't the smartest thing for a treasurer to say, while Nationals John Williams said people in the bush needed cars, a point echoed by Liberal Ian Macdonald.
"You have to have a car whether you're rich or poor," Senator Macdonald told ABC radio.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was more blunt.
"I don't know what planet Joe Hockey lives on, but it's not the real world," he said.
Even NSW Liberal Premier Mike Baird was not convinced about the treasurer's reasoning, telling reporters in Sydney: "I can't agree with those comments."
But Mr Hockey remained defiant, citing Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing the richest 20 per cent of households pay three times more in fuel taxes than the poorest 20 per cent.
Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, however, also defied the treasurer, pointing to research which shows lower income earners spent a greater proportion of their income on transport than the wealthy.
But cabinet colleague Peter Dutton came to Mr Hockey's defence, denying the government was out of touch with ordinary people.
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