Sinodinos makes first speech in 8 months

Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos has given his first speech to parliament since standing aside as assistant treasurer in March.

Senator Sinodinos vacated the ministry pending the result of a NSW corruption inquiry and has kept a very low profile on the Senate backbench ever since.

But on Thursday, for the first time in eight months, he rose to his feet to contribute to an upper house debate.

For nearly 20 minutes he offered his thoughts about reducing government spending in response to a motion moved by two crossbench senators.

His sudden appearance after a long hiatus caught some off guard, with Labor senator Catryna Bilyk welcoming him back to the fray.

"It's really lovely to hear from Senator Sinodinos again. We have missed his dulcet tones on this side," she told the chamber.

"He's been quiet for a very long time over there."

An embarrassing gaffe from Treasury last month seemed to suggest Senator Sinodinos was back when a media release was distributed under his name.

But Treasury later apologised for any confusion and corrected the name to Finance Minister and Acting Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann.

Some senior ministers, including Treasurer Joe Hockey, have expressed a wish to see Senator Sinodinos restored to the ministry.