Forget inflation; forget the government bond rate. Treasurer Joe Hockey on Thursday morning injected a new price measure into the political lexicon: the Middy Exchange Rate (MER).

Tony Abbott is dishonest 

A political staffer who set up the alleged NSW Liberal Party slush fund Eightbyfive wrote a false corruption complaint against senior public servants under an assumed identity, the Independent Commission Against Corruption has heard.

Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer has called on the government to take its harsher budget measures to an election.

He declared the GP co-payment and pension changes were not matters for negotiation and there was no chance his party would support them.

In an interview with ABC TV on Wednesday, Mr Palmer also predicted that the Prime Minister would not call an election if he could not pass his budget measures.

For Prime Minister Tony Abbott, his was not so much a budget as a settling of old scores.

During one of a raft of breakfast television appearances, on the Ten network's Wake Up, Mr Abbott was confronted by an elderly woman, named only as Vilma, furious about changes to the age pension, who responded to his explanations on broken promises with: ''I have never heard such rubbish in all my life.''

‘‘Why don't you leave the pensioners alone? If we pull the belt any tighter we’re going to choke to death,’’ Vilma said. ''Why are you picking on me?

‘‘I challenge you: come out and meet some of the pensioners, they’ll tell you a little thing or two.’’

Is 20 billion bucks for medical research going to cure my major disease — cynicism?

I repeat: Is 20 billion bucks for medical research going to cure my major disease — cynicism?

It’s difficult to find words to adequately describe the spectacle of the Abbott government setting about hiking income taxes and fuel excise in its first budget. “Beyond belief,” as one of the prime minister’s colleagues quipped, comes close.

From the man who promised no new taxes, and argued that “no country has ever taxed its way to prosperity,” here come the new taxes.

Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has been accused of inappropriately using a senior economist conducting an independent review of government policy as a "drawcard" for a $3000-a-head budget day fundraising event for the NSW Liberal party.

Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen has written to Mr Hockey voicing his concerns about the appearance of Professor Ian Harper on a list of speakers at an exclusive event organised by a secretive Liberal Party fundraising body, the North Sydney Forum.