Welfare, migration in Greens budget talks

SYDNEY (AAP) - The Australian Greens want the federal government to go back to the drawing board on welfare changes and skilled migrants, only a day after the budget was delivered.
The call came as the prime minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan took to the airwaves to pitch their $350 billion budget, which focused on training, welfare changes and mental health.
The Greens - who helped deliver minority government to Labor and will hold the Senate balance of power from July 1 - say reforms to get people off welfare and into work are "punitive" and have described 16,000 skilled migrants who will be placed in regional areas as "queue jumpers".
Greens leader Bob Brown said that while the parliament was yet to see what parts of the budget would require legislation, he would open talks with Mr Swan especially to ensure there weren't any "real victims" in the welfare overhaul.
"We will look to see what we can change in parliament, but I would prefer to do it by negotiation with the government," he said.
He said that while the Greens wanted the corporate tax cut for big business to be scrapped - saving about $18 billion over a decade - the government would get it through parliament with the coalition's support.
Finance Minister Penny Wong said she was open to talks with the Greens, but was surprised they did not support the welfare changes as they were "progressive".
"It is not a progressive thing to have children growing up in jobless families ... (or) have single parents on welfare for years," Senator Wong said.
Greens MP Adam Bandt also questioned how the government would spread the benefits of the mining boom beyond the resources-producing states.
Mr Swan said the mining profits tax revenue would go to superannuation for the low paid - with super funds pumping money into infrastructure - and small business would get a tax break.
The government came under fire from the opposition, who accused Mr Swan of not going far enough with spending cuts and making it more likely interest rates would rise soon.
Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said he would pin "every interest rate rise" on Labor.
The parliament's youngest member Wyatt Roy, who turns 21 on May 22, doubted the treasurer's claim Labor would return the budget to surplus by 2012/13.
The Queensland MP reminded the parliament no Labor government had achieved a surplus during his lifetime.
Ms Gillard said after talking with apprentices at a Canberra training centre the government was being responsible, keeping spending growth to one per cent while the economy was due to grow by four per cent.
The prime minister will get some free advice on Thursday in Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's budget reply speech, when he will outline how he would immediately cut 12,000 public servants and start to pay down Labor's debt, which is set to reach $106.6 billion in 2012.
The speech will not present an alternative 2011/12 budget, but rather show the coalition's broad approach to the economy and describe the Gillard minority government as a "failed experiment".