Ministers soften parental leave language

Cabinet ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce have studiously avoided the term "double-dipping" to describe new parents who access both employer and government paid parental leave schemes.

Fraud and rorts were also missing as they tried to quell criticism of a plan to stop parents taking advantage of a taxpayer-funded scheme on top of one provided by an employer.

Mr Joyce preferred to say the government was being "properly prudent" with the money of Australians, when quizzed by reporters in Canberra on Thursday.

Mr Turnbull would not be drawn on the "rort" label Social Services Minister Scott Morrison applied to the practice.

"People are entitled to apply for (and) receive whatever benefits they're lawfully entitled to," he said.

Treasurer Joe Hockey dismissed as "extraordinary" arguments that unions used the government scheme - which pays new parents the minimum wage for 18 weeks - as a basis for negotiating wage agreements.

Labor says workers have foregone wage increases to get more parental leave.

"This is quite surprising ... that they were trying to use a government payment as some sort of bargaining tool," Mr Hockey told reporters.

Opposition finance spokesman Tony Burke predicts the government will not get its $1 billion budget saving because some employers will withdraw their schemes.

But key crossbench senator David Leyonhjelm is backing the government.

"That's a saving and, yes, I'll be prepared to support that one," the Liberal Democrat told ABC radio.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon is concerned there has been a lot of "unnecessarily emotive" language about the measure.

He believes any changes to paid parental leave need to be brought in over time.

"At the very least there must be a grandfathering-type clause to transition out of this because some women have made plans on the basis of an agreement that still might have a couple of years to run," Senator Xenophon said.

Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos has said some agreements would have to be renegotiated.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton called for common sense, saying the welfare system was supposed to be a safety net to provide support to people down on their luck.

"The safety net in my mind is not being used appropriately," Mr Dutton told 2GB Radio when asked whether the government scheme was being rorted.