A federal budget that will help yield a faster 4 percent economic growth in the coming financial year and a smaller deficit of A$22.6 billion from an estimated $49.4 billion in the current year was presented by Treasurer Wayne Swan to the Australian Parliament on Tuesday.

Although it calls for spending cuts, the budget lays down what Mr Swan called called a "jobs, jobs, jobs plan" aimed at creating a "bigger and better workforce" that will propel the economy on the back of a current commodities boom fueled by dynamic economic growth in Asia.

A Building Australia's Future Workforce package, Mr Swan said, is intended to assist more people to find jobs, or re-skill into expanding areas of the economy.

The package includes $558 million for 130,000 training places, $200 million in assistance for apprentices to progress and complete their training, $1.75 billion to work with states and territories on changes to the vocational education and training system, and $263 million for other skill development programs.

This growth that all these activities can generate, he said, will lead to a budget surplus of $3.5 billion in the 2012-13 fiscal year, gradually expanding to $3.7 billion and to $5.8 billion in the succeeding two years.

Key initiatives in Mr Swan's budget include new programs in health, money for regional Australia, tax write-offs for small business and programs to encourage low-income families to better educate their children.

There were no new tax plans announced for the business sector, although there will be tighter fringe benefits tax rules on company cars to generate savings for the government.

A program to deploy some 16,000 skilled migrants to the regions is envisioned to take advantage of the current boom in mining activity.

Mining companies are seen to invest up to $76 billion in capacity expansion projects over the 2011-12 year, which is said to exceed annual historical levels by eight times.

The defense budget, also a source of targeted savings, will include provisions for job cuts of up to 1,000 personnel which together with improved efficiencies will shave spending by over $1 billion.

The budget also lines up reductions in benefits to middle-income and wealthy families, a move that is expected to yield savings of $2 billion over the next four years.

Mr Swan said the damage inflicted by Cyclone Yasi on Queensland early this year, together with the fallout from the disastrous earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, pared Australia's economic growth this year by three-quarters of a percentage point.

Furthermore, the prolonged effects of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis have continued to "savage revenue" and is now expected to cost the government up to $130 billion in lost revenue.

The crisis has proved to be "larger and lingering longer" than previously expected, with revenue from capital gains taxes alone having to be adjusted downward by $6 billion, he said.

Budget provisions that will likely face opposition include a plan to mothball the Green Car Innovation Fund and another to withhold funding for the Carbon Capture and Storage Program-which both are intended to yield savings of $684 million.

The federal budget also includes the following: $360 million for a National Workforce Development Fund that aims to provide 130,000 training places; $1.5 billion for a program to address mental illness; $200 million for additional school facilities and programs for disabled students; and $425 million worth of bonuses for excellence in teaching.