Don't squib budget savings: Sinodinos

The federal government can't afford to take the "foot off the pedal" of budget savings, a senior Liberal says.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Wednesday that this year's budget would be different to the previous year in that "when it comes to savings, people will find it pretty dull".

He said this year's repairs to the budget would not come at the expense of the family budget.

Former assistant treasurer Senator Arthur Sinodinos said the government should stay the course on budget savings.

"I'm saying that we can't take the foot off the pedal on this," he told Sky News.

"I can't give you the scale of savings compared to last year.

"But over time we do have to have important big reforms that give us the savings that mean we have ... the sort of budget that is a cushion for the inevitable economic shocks."