The Acting PM is standing by his comments the Treasurer will be Father Christmas when it comes to May’s Budget.

The Treasurer slammed the comments, saying he’s “not bringing a bag of gifts”.

Chris Kenny grills Mr McCormack on his first day in the job, but he repeatedly dodges the question of whether he’ll retract his comments.

He instead tells Chris “you can hear him have a little bit of a laugh”.

Trying to avoid the question, he says he’s “excited” and “passionate” about the Budget, but Chris didn’t let him off the hook that easily.

Acting PM: “I’m passionate about the budget, I’m passionate about infrastructure.”

Chris: “You’re passionate about spending, that’s what you’re passionate about!

“We’ve got a budget deficit still of $23 billion.”

Listen to the fiery back and forth below