Senators should find savings: Abbott

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has challenged cross bench senators to come up with savings to match the holes they are punching in the federal budget.

The Senate will resume debate on the carbon tax repeal on Tuesday, after the government successfully brought on the package of bills on Monday.

Palmer United Party senators threw the government temporarily off balance when they initially voted with Labor and the Greens not to bring on the bills until next Monday.

The coalition, which holds 33 seats in the new upper house, is confident of securing the six extra votes it needs to pass the bills as early as this week.

But Clive Palmer, whose party holds three crucial votes, insists the government should keep a number of costly Labor climate programs.

Mr Palmer also says the government should not go ahead with at least $9 billion in cuts to spending out of Labor's mining tax scheme.

Mr Abbott said the coalition promised at the September election to scrap the SchoolKids Bonus, the low income support payment and the low income superannuation payment because they were funded by the mining tax which is to be abolished.

"Obviously, we will keep talking to the cross bench senators but, in the end, if they want to keep spending this money presumably they are going to have to find savings to pay for it," Mr Abbott told the Nine Network on Tuesday.

"We will push on with implementing our program. That's what we were elected to do."

He described the debate in the Senate as a "bit of argy-bargy".

The repeal of the mining tax will be the immediate next order of business for the Senate after the carbon tax repeal bills are passed.

The Senate will resume at 12.30pm (AEST) after senators join with House of Representatives members to listen to a speech by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.