The current Treasurer probably wants it to hang around the news for a few days because it keeps him in the spotlight.

But prime ministers know better. Most voters have little interest in the complexities of a budget, beyond its immediate impact on them.

After that, they're over it and back to their routine.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott would be happy with Social Services Minister Scott Morrison stealing the limelight from Treasurer Joe Hockey because the Morrison child care reforms are being well received. He's also a fresh and untainted salesman.

Mr Hockey embodies the 2014 disaster that not only still refuses to sink without trace but almost engulfed the government.

But he will remain Treasurer because his boss is desperate to maintain stability. He was just the wrong guy to wheel out in front of the cameras this time.

The first Hockey budget was a bold attempt to rein in spending, but it was also unfair and this enabled the various tribes on the Senate cross bench to flex their muscles and build profiles. Who could forget the budget repair levy that wealthy professionals would have hardly noticed, and the wage freeze for politicians, just a year after their massive pay rise?

Some of those measures remain, like the paring back of the family tax benefit. But, spliced with the occasional austerity rerun is a belated attempt at fairness - like small business tax cuts and rural assistance, better child care subsidies for battlers and means-tested pension assets are some.

The bottom line is also better for this beleaguered Treasurer. Finally, a deficit that exceeds expectations and invokes credibility, despite $30 billion of last year's measures still trapped in the Senate.