Presented as Mr Hockey prepares to meet international finance ministers in Brisbane to push for measures to accelerate world growth, it shows the growth outlook for Australia has slipped, with growth of just 2.1 per cent expected in 2015-16 instead of the 3 per cent forecast in the budget.

When the budget was struck in May the iron ore price was $US103 ($119) a tonne. It has since fallen to $US83 taking as much as $10 billion out of tax revenue and helping push wage  growth to its lowest level in a decade.

So low has wage growth become that "it seems that not even bracket creep can get the budget back into surplus",  says the Canberra consultancy Macroeconomics in a report delivered to clients on Tuesday.

Whereas the Treasury expected a budget deficit of $29.8 billion this financial year, sliding to just $2.8 billion in 2017-18, Macroeconomics expects a deficit of $47.8 billion slipping to a still high $24 billion in 2017-18.

Although the budget contained many worthwhile measures, in practical terms it "produced confidence-sapping political deadlock," writes former Treasury economist Stephen Anthony, the chief forecaster at Macroeconomics.

"The real problem with the first Hockey Budget is that it is seen as unfair. It imposes too much of the adjustment burden on the disadvantaged rather than wealthy Australians who would benefit most from a resurgent economy driven by structural budget repairs."

Dr Anthony says Mr Hockey should focus on winning a few key battles such as reforming age pension indexation and tightening access to family benefits, abandoning low quality measures such as the 6-month qualifying period for unemployment benefits and the $7 dollar co-payment for visits to the doctor.

"The Treasurer should focus on a few major savings battles that are worth winning and abandon the rest which are political death by 1000 cuts," he writes.

"Any savings shortfall can be funded by winding back superannuation concessions."

Dr Anthony says the Treasurer could make up for all of the  measures blocked in the Senate by taxing all super contributions at the taxpayer's marginal tax rate.

"Macroeconomics believes that after behavioural responses this will yield up to $12 billion per year," he says.

"This reform would be considered fairer than most options included in the 2014-15 budget and could be introduced after the next election to keep faith with the electorate."

"As it raises more than the necessary $5.5 billion target, the balance could be used to provide tax cuts to middle income earners."