Source: The Australian [Matthew Franklin and Brad Norington]

MALCOLM Turnbull has urged the Rudd Government to rethink its promises of savage spending cuts in next week's budget, warning there is no economic case to expose Australians to further economic hardship.

As Wayne Swan yesterday continued to warn of spending cuts, the Opposition Treasury spokesman said banks had already hurt Australians by increasing interest rates and that there was no need to put Australians under further pressure.

The debate came as Kevin Rudd announced the economic blueprint would include a $100 million boost in disability funding aimed at carers.

But despite the funding, carers' representatives criticised the move as a "token amount".

Mr Swan will hand down his budget in eight days.

Since Labor won November's election, the Treasurer has warned that irresponsible spending by the Howard government has driven increases in inflation, which stands at 4.2 per cent, and home-loan interest rates.

He has argued the budget must clamp down on Government spending to reduce inflation and further rate rises.

Mr Swan repeated his warnings yesterday and also said the budget would deliver for battlers.

"We will be providing our increased support in this budget to those people, which is why we're so committed to the tax cuts, so committed to the increased childcare relief, because we have to make room in our budget for those initiatives, which is why we are reining in spending elsewhere," Mr Swan told the ABC's Insiders.

He also all but confirmed that the budget would include a means test on the $6000 baby bonus.

But Mr Turnbull, questioned on the baby bonus and asked to name a global savings target, said: "I don't think there's any need to cut it."

He told the Ten Network's Meet the Press that if Mr Swan was serious about wanting to use spending cuts to reduce inflation, he would have to reduce spending by $6 billion a year.

"I think it's too big at the moment," he said.

"We are living in a very uncertain, very dangerous financial world at the moment."

Mr Swan said last night that Mr Turnbull had "no understanding" of the realities of anordinary household budget.

Also last night, carer's groups attacked Mr Rudd announcement at the annual conference of the Labor Party's NSW branch in Sydney that the budget would include an extra $100million in funding for supported accommodation for disabled people.

While conceding it was a small first step, the Prime Minister said the funding would provide some peace of mind to ageing carers concerned about planning for the future accommodation of their disabled children.

But Carers Alliance spokeswoman Mary Lou Carter said the money, to be shared between the states on a per-capita basis, would not go far.

"The need for accommodation in NSW right at this moment is bordering between 8000 and 10,000, so $30 million is not going to go very far at all," she said.

Carers Alliance national convenor Nell Brown said Mr Rudd's announcement was inadequate.

"Howard left them $17 billion and (the budget has) grown enormously, and yet they're putting in $100 million," she said.

"How insulting."

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