Scott Morrison defends his handling of the federal budget despite $10.4b blowout

Treasurer Scott Morrison has defended his handling of the federal budget despite another $10.4 billion blowout.

The review released on Monday shows a minor decrease in the deficit equating to roughly $500 million since May.

However, projections have the deficit ballooning out by more than $10 billion over the next three years.

But Mr Morrison told Nick McCallum he never promised a surplus.

‘I’ve said there is a projection for the budget to return to balance in 2021,’ he said on Monday.

‘That’s not a promise.’

Mr Morrison also said it was a ‘difficult call’ to abolish the green army.

The ‘green army’ was a program initiated by Tony Abbott with the aim of getting young unemployed people into work on conservation projects.

But the program has now been axed, with the Treasurer saying the initiative didn’t prove effective in reducing unemployment.

Click play for the full interview