The federal opposition believes Treasurer Wayne Swan will need to be a magician to deliver his promised budget surplus in 2012/13 in the light of downgraded global growth forecasts.
The International Monetary Fund has slashed its forecasts for world growth for this year and next, predicting a "mild" recession in Europe and a deceleration of global activity.
Mr Swan says Australia's rock-solid economic fundamentals are likely to cushion the local economy from the global downturn.
His opposition counterpart, Joe Hockey, says it will be around August-September 2013 before a budget surplus could be confirmed by Mr Swan.
"By that stage we would have (experienced) the full impact of a European downturn," he told ABC Radio.
Mr Hockey predicted economic volatility for the next 10 to 20 years, saying it would be extremely difficult to deliver a budget surplus, especially with an expected 14 per cent drop in commodity prices, "which would inevitability have an impact on Australia's terms of trade", he said.
"But great, if this magician can do it, so be it."
