Bowen angered by RBA cabinet leak

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says the Abbott government should not hide behind the Reserve Bank to sell its budget cuts.

Governor Glenn Stevens and new Treasury boss John Fraser took the unusual step of briefing federal cabinet about this week's cut in the cash rate to a record low 2.25 per cent.

The pair reportedly warned that if the government's spending cuts, now held up in the Senate, failed to clear parliament, then the budget was at risk of never getting back to surplus.

Mr Bowen was outraged that advice was leaked to selected media outlets, and demanded an explanation from Treasurer Joe Hockey.

"If the treasurer can't sell his own budget and his own harsh cuts, he should not hide behind a briefing by the governor of the Reserve Bank," Mr Bowen told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

He also demanded the treasurer provide a timetable for returning the budget to surplus.

Mr Hockey denied he had ditched the search for budget savings.

"The fact is we are focused on getting the budget back to surplus so that Australia can start to live within its means," he told ABC radio.

The government was searching for savings everywhere while being careful not to have any adverse impact on households, Mr Hockey said.