FINANCE Minister Penny Wong has defended scrapping the baby bonus while retaining the SchoolKids Bonus.
She said no saving was ever painless, nor free of criticism.
''You've got to make a judgement about how you make savings and how you make room for the reforms of the future,'' she said.
''Someone asked me yesterday what are families getting out of this and I said, well you know what they're getting, they're getting investment in our schools that means we don't keep leaving Australian children behind because of where they live and the circumstances of their families.''
NSW Labor MP Andrew Leigh said the baby bonus had never been a good idea anyway.
Senator Penny Wong talks over the details of the budget with members of the media during 'Budget lock up'. Picture: Getty Images
Mr Leigh said a Melbourne University study put the cost of each new baby induced by the baby bonus at $150,000 a year.
''So this was never good, public policy,'' he said.
''And what we've done by means testing it and bringing the amount down has been in the spirit of the means-tested, targeted social safety net which has served Australia well for decades.''
The SchoolKids Bonus, on the other hand, helped with specific education costs like uniforms and text books, he said.
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