Treasurer Joe Hockey has confirmed the government is searching for additional savings ahead of the mid-year economic update, but dismissed suggestions the government has given up $30 billion in savings over four years as contained in its budget.

Mr Hockey said the government would spell out in December's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook how it would pay for a range of new measures and expenses, including an increase in funding for security agencies announced by the Abbott government in August.

But he declined to put a dollar figure on how much more money the government would need to find.

"You will see it [the figure] in the mid-year update, which is in December. We are again carefully, methodically going through the budget, [so we] don't do what Labor did, making it up along the way," he said.

Mr Hockey said he would "never give up" on controversial savings set out in his first budget.

He insisted an Australian Financial Review report was wrong to suggest the government was ready to raise the white flag on securing passage of cuts to welfare, the $7 GP fee and higher university charges - although he would not say when the proposals would be brought to a vote.

"The bottom line is if you can win a battle you take that victory but you never give up the war. In this case we are absolutely determined to stop the trajectory that Labor left, which is debt going to $667 billion in 10 years, which is $25,000 for every man, woman and child," he told ABC radio on Wednesday.

"We have always said that we will negotiate with sensible people; now if there is an inability to get a majority of the Senate, we are going to continue with the principles and we will continue with the policies because ultimately what we are doing is right for Australia."

Mr Hockey highlighted the government's successful negotiation of the repeal of the mining and carbon taxes through the Senate as evidence of why it should not give up on finding savings.

The Treasurer said the government remained committed to policies including the deregulation of universities, a six-month wait for young dole recipients and restarting the indexation of petrol excise.

"We don't give up on good policy. We don't give up on doing what is right to address the legacy that Labor left," he said.

"We are going to continue with the policies because ultimately what we are doing is right for Australia," he said.

Only about $3 billion in welfare cuts are expected to be passed by the opposition and cross-bench, while about $10 billion will be blocked.

In August, Mr Hockey warned that the government would take "emergency action" and pursue Queensland-style austerity measures if the upper house did not support its structural budget savings.

Labor reiterated on Wednesday that it would be voting down the government's package of welfare bills, which includes cuts to the indexation of all pensions, cuts to family benefits and changes to youth unemployment entitlements, as a whole.

But the opposition would support some cuts to family tax benefits if the government agreed to split the bills.

"Our position has been clear, that there are some measures here that we would vote for if they split the bills," shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said.

"We have been telling them publicly and privately what our position is and the fact they still haven't decided how to split the bills goes to the mismanagement of this budget."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said it was "worse still" that Mr Hockey was searching for additional savings ahead of the mid-year economic update.

"He is on the record as having said he wants to go harder,' Mr Shorten said.

"This budget is in chaos, it is in disarray.

"It's because this budget's fundamentally unfair and it's bad policy."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the government was not walking away from any of the social security changes it had flagged in the budget but it had accepted that "some budget measures do need to pass the Senate and we obviously want to put them to the Senate in the form which is most calculated to get passage of the relevant legislation".

"We inherited a situation where without change, we are paying a billion dollars a month every single month just to pay the interest on Labor's debt. Without change, that is ratcheting up to $3 billion a month. So change is not an optional extra, change is an absolute necessity for this country if we're to enjoy the prosperity, the employment, if we're to enjoy the quality of life that we are used to."

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