Federal budget 2017-18 live: Malcolm Turnbull continues budget battle with banks

Okay, end of the day. What happened?

• things were going pretty well for the government budget-wise;
• it was generally received;
• except for the banks but the public does not really care for them so it was a case of so far so good for the government;
• but then question time rolled around where it was revealed the cost of the company tax cuts is $65 billion - not $50 billion as originally thought;
• and that (gross) debt is expected to hit three quarters of a trillion dollars;
• not a great way to end the week; and
• Opposition Leader Bill Shorten gives his budget reply speech tonight.

My thanks, as always, to Alex Ellinghausen and Andrew Meares, and to you for reading and commenting.

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Alex, Andrew and I will be back on Monday 22 May. We hope to see you then. Until well, travel safely.

Really - is there some unwritten rule that the Turnbull government can only get for about 36 hours before something happens to derail it?

Put another way - I ask again if Bill Shorten is the luckiest man in Australian politics.

You can catch up on the company tax cut saga here.

Just a reminder that Bill Shorten will give his budget reply speech tonight at 7.30.

And that's it for question time.

Mr Shorten says Mr Colvin was a "gentleman journalist" who was "one of the finest minds in journalism".

On indulgence, Mr Turnbull speaks about veteran journalist Mark Colvin whose death was announced by the ABC earlier today.

"Mark Colvin was as elegant as he was erudite, always honest, always determined to get to the truth, prodigiously well read. Brilliantly researched, well informed, substantive, honest, in a world where spin and superficiality has far too much to say in journalism today," Mr Turnbull says.

His was "a truly objective, well thought out voice".

Oy vey - there are a lot of large numbers being bandied about.

The opposition knows it is on a good thing.

It now tries asking how much debt will be.

Nearly three quarters of a trillion dollars, Mr Morrison says.

(That's gross debt but still....)

"I don't really have a point of order, I just thought he needed to take a breath," opposition frontbencher Tony Burke says as Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce gets stuck in.

Mr Burke is thrown out for his efforts.

Mr Turnbull is attempting to clawback the situation by reading old quotes from Mr Shorten about why it is important to have good conditions for companies to operate in.

It is not working. Members of the government backbench have, almost as one, slumped down in their seats.

So, in other words, once the company tax cut is fully implemented it will go up by $15 billion each year.

The opposition is not letting go.

"How much will flow to overseas shareholders?" Mr Shorten asks Mr Turnbull.

He defers to Mr Morrison.

Mr Morrison is having none of it. He instead challenges Mr Shorten to reveal what he will say in his budget reply speech.

It appears the change in cost comes from changing the timeframe from 2016/17 to 2026/2027 to 2017/2018 to 2027/2028.

This means that more companies are now on the reduced corporate tax rate of 25 per cent which, ergo, means the total cost is much higher.

"How are you going to pay for it?" Mr Shorten asks.

Mr Turnbull says $29.5 billion of the company tax cuts have already been legislation.

But another $35 billion have not.

Labor MP Nick Champion is thrown out for this interjection: "Stick a fork in him, he's done!"

That is a significant increase on the previous cost we were told which was $50 billion.

Where did the extra $15.4 billion come from?

The opposition is keen to explore the cost of the company tax cuts that were passed in the last sitting fortnight before the budget.

It notes that while the Prime Minister said the cost was $26 billion the Treasurer said $36.5 billion.

What is the real cost, it wants to know.

Mr Morrison consults his iphone: "$65.4 billion."

(That's over the next decade starting on 1 July.)

Question time begins with the opposition laying the groundwork for tonight's budget reply speech.

Education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek asks about funding to NSW schools.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says Labor wants to use "funny money, Monopoly money" to fund schools.

Okay - nearly question time.

She says when policy is done quickly and without careful consideration "it is a dangerous place for us all to be".

The government is playing "fast and loose" with the security of the banking system.

"This issue is really, really serious. To suggest that there's petty schoolyard politics in the background, I think, is unhelpful."